First terminal device, second terminal device, and method

Abstract

[0003] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a method, an apparatus, and a computer-readable medium for communication. The method includes determining, at a first terminal device, a first shared channel occupied (CO) time interval based on at least one of a remaining COT, a first priority value for a subsequent sidelink transmission of the first terminal device, or a first resource for the subsequent sidelink transmission. The method further includes transmitting information regarding the first shared CO time interval.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunications, and more particularly to methods, devices, and computer-readable media for sidelink communication.

Background Art

[0002] Sidelink in unlicensed spectrum or band (SL-U) is a major theme of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 18. SL-U should be based on New Radio (NR) sidelink and NR-U.

[0003] In the case of communication in an unlicensed band between a network device and a terminal device, resources within channel occupancy (CO) may be shared according to the scheduling of the network device in a time division multiplexing (TDM) mode. In the case of direct communication in an unlicensed band between a terminal device and another terminal device, the CO initiated or taken over by the terminal device may be shared with the other terminal device for the direct communication. If the time interval of the shared channel occupancy time (COT) is inappropriate, higher priority traffic of the terminal device may not be guaranteed.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Generally, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method, device, and computer-readable media for communication.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] In a first embodiment, a communication method is provided. The method includes, in a first terminal device, determining a first shared CO time interval based on at least one of the remaining COT, a first priority value for subsequent sidelink transmissions of the first terminal device, or a first resource for the subsequent sidelink transmissions. The method further includes transmitting information relating to the first shared CO time interval.

[0006] In a second embodiment, a method of communication is provided. The method includes, in a second terminal device, receiving information about a shared CO from a first terminal device, and determining a COT for a second sidelink transmission of the second terminal device based on at least one of the shared CO, a first priority value for a subsequent sidelink transmission of the first terminal device, a second priority value for the second sidelink transmission, or a potential resource for the subsequent sidelink transmission.

[0007] In a third embodiment, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device comprises a processor and a memory storing instructions. The memory and the instructions are configured to cause the terminal device to execute the method according to the first embodiment using the processor.

[0008] In a fourth embodiment, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device includes a processor and a memory for storing instructions. The memory and the instructions are configured to cause the terminal device to perform the method according to the second embodiment using the processor.

[0009] In a fifth embodiment, a computer-readable medium storing instructions is provided. When the instructions are executed on at least one processor of the device, the device is caused to perform the method according to the first embodiment.

[0010] In a sixth embodiment, a computer-readable medium storing instructions is provided. When the instructions are executed on at least one processor of the device, the device is caused to perform the method according to the second embodiment.

[0011] It should be understood that the summary portion of the invention is not intended to identify any important or fundamental features of the embodiments of this disclosure, nor to limit the scope of this disclosure. Other features of this disclosure should be readily apparent from the following description. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0012] The above-mentioned and other objectives, features, and advantages of this disclosure will be further clarified by describing in more detail some embodiments of this disclosure in the attached drawings.

[0013] [Figure 1] This figure shows an exemplary communication network on which the embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented.

[0014] [Figure 2] This figure shows examples of automatic gain control (AGC) symbols and guard period (GP) symbols according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0015] [Figure 3] This figure shows an example of COT according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0016] [Figure 4] This is an exemplary signaling diagram illustrating an exemplary process for CO sharing according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0017] [Figure 5A] This figure shows examples of shared CO time intervals according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 5B] This figure shows examples of shared CO time intervals according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 5C] A diagram showing an example of a shared CO time interval according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 5D] A diagram showing an example of a shared CO time interval according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 5E] A diagram showing an example of a shared CO time interval according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 5F] A diagram showing an example of a shared CO time interval according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 5G] A diagram showing an example of a shared CO time interval according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 5H] A diagram showing an example of a shared CO time interval according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0018] [Figure 6] A flowchart of an exemplary method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0019] [Figure 7] A flowchart of an exemplary method according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0020] [Figure 8] A schematic block diagram of an apparatus suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0021] In the figures, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar elements.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0022] Here, the principles of the present disclosure will be explained with reference to some exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described for illustrative purposes only and are intended to assist those skilled in the art in understanding and implementing the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various ways different from the methods described below.

[0023] In the following description and claims, unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings as those generally understood by those skilled in the art.

[0024] As used herein, the term “terminal device” refers to any device having wireless or wired communication capabilities. Examples of terminal devices include user equipment (UE), personal computers, desktops, mobile phones, cellular phones, smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, tablets, wearable devices, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) devices, Internet of Everything (IoE) devices, machine-type communication (MTC) devices, in-vehicle devices for V2X communication where X represents pedestrians, vehicles, or infrastructure / networks, devices for integrated access and integrated access and backhaul (IAB), satellite-borne or aircraft-borne vehicles within non-terrestrial networks (NTN) including high-altitude platforms (HAP) encompassing satellites and unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), extended reality (XR) devices including different types of reality such as augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), and virtual reality (VR), and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which are aircraft without human pilots and are commonly referred to as drones. This includes, but is not limited to, devices on a vehicle, a high-speed train (HST), or image acquisition devices such as digital cameras, sensor game devices, music storage and playback devices, or internet-connected home appliances that enable wireless or wired internet access and browsing. A “terminal device” may further have “multicast / broadcast” capabilities to support V2X applications, transparent IPv4 / IPv6 multicast distribution, IPTV, smart TV, wireless services, wireless software distribution, group communications, and IoT applications, where public safety and mission are of paramount importance. It may also incorporate one or more Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs), known as multi-SIMs.The term "terminal device" may be used interchangeably with UE, mobile station, subscriber station, mobile terminal, user terminal, or radio device.

[0025] The term "network device" refers to a device that can provide or host a cell or coverage on which terminal devices can communicate. Examples of network devices include, but are not limited to, low-power nodes such as Node B (NodeB or NB), Evolutionary Node B (eNodeB or eNB), Next Generation Node B (gNB), Transmit / Receive Point (TRP), Remote Radio Unit (RRU), Radio Head (RH), Remote Radio Head (RRH), IAB node, Femtonode, Piconode, and Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (RIS).

[0026] Terminal devices or network devices may possess artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning capabilities. Generally, this includes a trained model derived from a large amount of data collected for a specific function, which can be used to predict certain information.

[0027] Terminal or network devices may operate on several frequency ranges, such as FR1 (410 MHz to 7125 MHz), FR2 (24.25 GHz to 71 GHz), frequency bands greater than 100 GHz, and terahertz (THz). Furthermore, they can operate on permitted / unpermitted / shared spectrum. Terminal devices may have two or more connections to network devices under Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC) application scenarios. Terminal or network devices can operate in full-duplex, flexible-duplex, or cross-split-duplex modes.

[0028] Embodiments of this disclosure may be implemented, for example, in test equipment such as signal generators, signal analyzers, spectrum analyzers, network analyzers, test terminal devices, test network devices, and channel emulators.

[0029] As used herein, the singular forms “one” and “the foregoing” also include the plural form unless explicitly indicated in the context. The term “including” and its variations should be understood as an open-ended term meaning “including, but not limited to.” The term “based on” should be understood as “at least partially based on.” The terms “several embodiments” and “embodiment” should be understood as “at least several embodiments.” The term “another embodiment” should be understood as “at least one other embodiment.” Terms such as “first,” “second,” etc., may refer to different or identical subjects. The following may include other explicit and implicit definitions.

[0030] In some examples, values, procedures, or devices are referred to as “best,” “worst,” “highest,” “minimum,” “maximum,” etc. Such descriptions are intended to show that a choice can be made from among many usable functional alternatives, and it should be understood that such a choice does not need to be better, smaller, higher, or otherwise more desirable than other choices.

[0031] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary communication network 100 that can implement an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 1, the communication network 100 may include terminal devices 110, 120, 130, and network devices 140 and 150. Network devices 140 and 150 may communicate with terminal devices 110, 120, and 130 via their respective wireless communication channels.

[0032] In some embodiments, the network device 140 may be a gNB in ​​NR, and the network device 150 may be an eNB in ​​a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system.

[0033] The number of devices in Figure 1 is given for illustrative purposes only and should be understood as not implying any limitation to this disclosure. The communication network 100 may include any suitable number of network devices and / or terminal devices suitable for carrying out embodiments of this disclosure.

[0034] Communications in the communication network 100 may comply with any appropriate standard, including but not limited to, the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), LTE, LTE-Evolution, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), GSM Edge Radio Access Network (GERAN), and Machine Type Communication (MTC). Furthermore, communications may be performed in accordance with any generation of communication protocol currently known or to be developed in the future. Examples of communication protocols include, but are not limited to, first-generation (1G), second-generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third-generation (3G), fourth-generation (4G), 4.5G, and fifth-generation (5G) communication protocols.

[0035] In some embodiments, communication in the communication network 100 may include sidelink communication. Sidelink communication is direct wireless radio communication between two or more terminal devices, for example, two or more terminal devices among terminal devices 110, terminal device 120, and terminal device 130. In this type of communication, two or more geographically close terminal devices can communicate directly without going through network device 140 or 150 or the core network. Therefore, data transmission in sidelink communication differs from typical cellular network communication, where a terminal device transmits data to network device 140 or 150 (i.e., uplink transmission) or receives data from network device 140 or 150 (i.e., downlink transmission). As shown in Figure 1, in sidelink communication, data is transmitted directly from a source terminal device (e.g., terminal device 110) to a target terminal device (e.g., terminal device 120) via an integrated air interface, for example, a PC5 interface (i.e., sidelink transmission).

[0036] Sidelink communication can offer several advantages, including reduced data transmission load on the core network, decreased system resource consumption, reduced transmission power consumption, and lower network operating costs, as well as saving radio spectrum resources and improving the spectral efficiency of cellular wireless communication systems.

[0037] In a sidelink communication system, sidelink resources are used to transmit information between terminal devices. Depending on the application scenario and type of service, sidelink communication methods include, but are not limited to, device-to-device (D2D) communication and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication.

[0038] V2X communication enables vehicles to communicate with other vehicles (i.e., vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication), with infrastructure (i.e., vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication), with wireless networks (i.e., vehicle-to-network (V2N) communication), with pedestrians (i.e., vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communication), and even with their owners' homes (i.e., vehicle-to-home (V2H) communication). Examples of infrastructure include roadside devices such as traffic lights and toll booths. V2X communication can be used in a wide range of scenarios, including accident prevention, safety, convenience, traffic efficiency, and accident-free driving, ultimately leading to autonomous and self-driving vehicles.

[0039] In sidelink communication, terminal devices transmit or receive signals using resources within the sidelink resource pool. The sidelink resource pool includes resources in the time domain and frequency domain, and these resources are either dedicated to sidelink communication or shared between sidelink communication and cellular link.

[0040] A sidelink resource pool may contain multiple slots and resource blocks (RBs), and all or some of the symbols within a slot may be used for sidelink transmission. Within the resource pool, of all symbols configured for sidelink within each slot, the first symbol (i.e., the start symbol) is used as the automatic gain control (AGC) symbol, and the last symbol is used as the guard period (GP) symbol. The AGC and GP symbols may be considered as fixed overhead within the sidelink resource. In the following description of embodiments, as shown in Figure 2, the AGC and GP symbols are included in the sidelink symbol indicated by the sidelink channel resource configuration, the AGC symbol transmits redundant sidelink information, and the GP symbol is not used to carry sidelink information.

[0041] Terminal devices 110, 120, and 130 may transmit sidelink signaling or information using a sidelink channel. A sidelink channel includes at least one of the following: a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) resource used to carry sidelink control information (SCI); a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) resource used to carry sidelink data service information; a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) resource used to carry sidelink ACK / NACK feedback information; a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH) resource for carrying sidelink broadcast information; and a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH) resource used to carry sidelink discovery signals.

[0042] Figure 3 shows an example 300 of a COT according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 3, in order to transmit a PSCCH or PSSCH in slot 0, the first terminal device 110 may perform a type 1 Listen Before Talk (LBT) procedure in subbands #0 and #1 prior to slot 0. In other words, the first terminal device 110 may use subbands as LBT units in the frequency domain. Alternatively, the frequency ranges #0 and #1 may be referred to as RB sets #0 and #1. That is, the first terminal device 110 may use resource block (RB) sets as LBT units in the frequency domain. Depending on the success of the LBT procedure prior to slot 0, the first terminal device 110 accesses the channel in slot 0 and transmits a PSCCH or PSSCH. The first terminal device 110 may indicate in the sidelink control information (SCI) on the PSCCH in slot 0 the resources in slot 0 for the current transmission and the resources in slots 6 and 9 reserved for subsequent transmissions. For example, each subsequent transmission may include a retransmission or a PSFCH transmission.

[0043] Since the first terminal device 110 does not have transmissions in slots 1-5 and 7-9 within subbands #0 and #1, the first terminal device 110 may share some or all of the remaining COT with at least one of the second terminal device 120 and the third terminal device 130. In this regard, the first terminal device 110 may transmit information regarding the shared CO time interval in slot 0. For example, the first terminal device 110 may transmit information regarding the shared CO time interval in the SCI on the PSCCH in slot 0. Hereinafter, the terminal device that transmits information regarding the shared CO time interval will also be referred to as the shared terminal device, and the terminal device that receives information regarding the shared CO time interval will also be referred to as the takeover terminal device.

[0044] If the shared CO time interval includes slots 0-9, the first terminal device 110 must compete with the second terminal device 120 and / or terminal device 130 for subbands #0 and #1 in slot 6 if a subsequent transmission occurs in slot 6. In this case, if the first terminal device 110 fails to access the channel in slot 6, the first terminal device 110 will not perform a subsequent transmission in slot 6. This negatively impacts the subsequent transmission of the first terminal device 110, especially if the subsequent transmission of the first terminal device 110 has a higher priority. On the other hand, to ensure a subsequent transmission in slot 6, which has a higher priority, the first terminal device 110 may share the COT in slots 0-5 with the second terminal device 120 and / or third terminal device 130. If the second terminal device 120 and the third terminal device 130 are not permitted to share the COT in slots 6-9, the resources in slots 6-9 may be wasted or occupied by other communication systems.

[0045] Since subsequent transmissions within slot 9 are performed within subbands #3 and #4 rather than subbands #0 and #1, it can be seen that whether or not the shared CO time interval includes slot 9 does not affect the first terminal device 110.

[0046] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for sidelink transmission to solve the above-mentioned problems and one or more other potential problems. According to this solution, the first terminal device determines a shared CO time interval based on at least one of the remaining COT, the priority value of the subsequent sidelink transmission of the first terminal device, or the resources for the subsequent sidelink transmission. The first terminal device then transmits information about the first shared CO time interval. This solution provides a balanced method for higher-priority transmissions from both the sharing terminal device and the takeover terminal device.

[0047] Figure 4 is an exemplary signaling diagram showing an exemplary process 400 for CO sharing according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 4, the process 400 may involve a first terminal device 110 and a second terminal device 120, as shown in Figure 1. The process 400 may include additional operations not shown, and / or some of the operations shown may be omitted, and it should be understood that the scope of the disclosure is not limited in this respect. Furthermore, although presented herein primarily as being performed sequentially, it should be understood that at least some of the operations of the process 400 may be performed simultaneously or in an order different from that shown in Figure 4.

[0048] As shown in Figure 4, the first terminal device 110 determines the first shared CO time interval based on at least one of the remaining COT, a first priority value for subsequent sidelink transmissions by the first terminal device 110, or a first resource for said subsequent sidelink transmissions (410).

[0049] In some embodiments, subsequent sidelink transmissions from the first terminal device 110 may include retransmissions or PSFCH transmissions.

[0050] Next, the first terminal device 110 transmits information regarding the first shared CO time interval (420). In some embodiments, the first terminal device 110 may transmit the information regarding the shared CO time interval within a dedicated field of the SCI. The SCI may be an SCI having a new format compared to existing SCI formats. Accordingly, the second terminal device 120 receives the information regarding the first shared CO time interval.

[0051] In the first embodiment, the first terminal device 110 may determine whether a priority threshold is set or preset. If a priority threshold is set or preset, the first terminal device 110 may compare a first priority value for the first terminal device 110's subsequent sidelink transmission with the priority threshold. If the first priority value is lower than the priority threshold, the first terminal device 110 may compare the remaining COT with a transmission offset. The transmission offset is a time offset between the second resource to which information about the first shared CO time interval is transmitted and the first resource for the subsequent sidelink transmission.

[0052] If the remaining COT is smaller than the transmission offset, the first terminal device 110 may determine the remaining COT as the first shared CO time interval. On the other hand, if the transmission offset is smaller than the remaining COT, the first terminal device 110 may determine the transmission offset as the first shared CO time interval. This will be explained with reference to Figures 5A and 5B.

[0053] Figures 5A and 5B show examples of shared CO time intervals according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, respectively. In the examples of Figures 5A and 5B, in response to the success of the LBT procedure prior to slot 0, the first terminal device 110 transmits a PSCCH or PSSCH and information regarding the first shared CO time interval within slot 0. The first terminal device 110 may also indicate within the SCI on the PSCCH in slot 0 the resources in slot 0 for the current transmission and the resources in slot 6 reserved for subsequent sidelink transmissions.

[0054] Additionally, in the examples in Figures 5A and 5B, a priority threshold is set or pre-set, and the priority value for subsequent sidelink transmissions within slot 6 is lower than the priority threshold.

[0055] In the example in Figure 5A, the remaining COT includes slots 0 to 9, and the transmission offset between the resource (slot 0) to which information about the first shared CO time interval is transmitted and the resource (slot 6) for the subsequent sidelink transmission includes slots 0 to 5. In this case, the first terminal device 110 determines this transmission offset as the first shared CO time interval. That is, the first shared CO time interval includes slots 0 to 5. Although it has been explained that the first shared CO time interval includes slots 0 to 5, since the first terminal device 110 has already used slot 0 to transmit information about the first shared CO time interval, the second terminal device 120 can use only slots 1 to 5 for its sidelink transmission.

[0056] In the example in Figure 5B, the remaining COT includes slots 0 to 4, and the transmission offset between the resource (slot 0) to which information about the first shared CO time interval is transmitted and the resource (slot 6) for the subsequent sidelink transmission includes slots 0 to 5. In this case, the first terminal device 110 determines the remaining COT as the first shared CO time interval. That is, the first shared CO time interval includes slots 0 to 4.

[0057] In some embodiments, if the first priority value is equal to or greater than the priority threshold, or if the priority threshold is not set or pre-set, the first terminal device 110 may determine the first shared CO time interval as the remaining COT.

[0058] In the second embodiment, the first terminal device 110 may determine the first shared CO time interval as the remaining COT without comparing the first priority value with a priority threshold.

[0059] In a third embodiment, the first terminal device 110 may determine the first shared CO time interval as the transmission offset without comparing the first priority value with a priority threshold.

[0060] In some embodiments, the first terminal device 110 may receive a Radio Resource Control (RRC) setting or RRC pre-setting. The RRC setting or RRC pre-setting may indicate which of the first, second, or third embodiments is adopted by the first terminal device 110. The first terminal device 110 may determine a first shared CO time interval based on the RRC setting or RRC pre-setting.

[0061] In some embodiments, the first terminal device 110 may transmit information regarding the first shared CO time interval along with the first sidelink transmission in the third resource. The LBT units associated with the third resource overlap in the frequency domain with the first resource for subsequent sidelink transmissions. For example, consider the examples in Figures 5A and 5B. The first terminal device 110 transmits information regarding the first shared CO time interval in slot 0 in the first sidelink transmission within resource 0, which belongs to subbands #0 and #1. The first terminal device 110 similarly transmits a subsequent sidelink transmission within resource 6, which also belongs to subbands #0 and #1.

[0062] Continuing to refer to Figure 4, upon receiving information regarding the first shared CO time interval from the first terminal device 110, the second terminal device 120 determines the COT for the second sidelink transmission of the second terminal device 120 based on at least one of the first shared CO time interval, a first priority value for the subsequent sidelink transmission of the first terminal device, a second priority value for the second sidelink transmission, or potential resources for the subsequent sidelink transmission (430).

[0063] In an embodiment where the subsequent sidelink transmission from the first terminal device 110 is a PSSCH retransmission, the second terminal device 120 may determine the potential resources for the subsequent sidelink transmission from the Time resource assignment field in the SCI transmitted by the first terminal device 110.

[0064] In an embodiment where the subsequent sidelink transmission of the first terminal device 110 is a PSFCH transmission, the second terminal device 120 may determine the potential resources for the subsequent sidelink transmission from predefined possible PSFCH opportunities for the sidelink resource pool, for example, based on the PSFCH resource settings within the resource pool.

[0065] In some embodiments, the second terminal device 120 may compare a second priority value for a second sidelink transmission with a first priority value for subsequent sidelink transmissions. If the second priority value is smaller than the first priority value, the second terminal device 120 may determine the COT for the second sidelink transmission of the second terminal device 120 as the first shared CO time interval. For example, the first priority value for subsequent sidelink transmissions may be equal to the value in the priority field in the SCI transmitted by the first terminal device 110.

[0066] On the other hand, if the second priority value is equal to or greater than the first priority value, the second terminal device 120 may determine a transmission offset between the resource from which the information regarding the first shared CO time interval is received and a potential resource for subsequent sidelink transmissions.

[0067] If the first shared CO time interval is smaller than the transmission offset, the second terminal device 120 may determine COT as the first shared CO time interval. On the other hand, if the transmission offset is smaller than the first shared CO time interval, the second terminal device 120 may determine COT as the transmission offset. This will be explained with reference to Figure 5C.

[0068] Figure 5C shows an example of a shared CO time interval according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In the example of Figure 5C, depending on the success of the LBT procedure prior to slot 0, the first terminal device 110 transmits information about the first shared CO time interval to the PSCCH or PSSCH within slot 0. The first terminal device 110 may also indicate in the SCI on the PSCCH in slot 0 the resources in slot 0 for the current transmission and the resources in slot 6 reserved for subsequent sidelink transmissions.

[0069] Additionally, in the example in Figure 5C, the information regarding the first shared CO time interval within slot 0 indicates that the first shared CO time interval includes slots 0-9. The transmission offset between the resource receiving the information regarding the first shared CO time interval and the potential resource for subsequent sidelink transmissions includes slots 0-5.

[0070] If the second priority value is smaller than the first priority value, the second terminal device 120 may determine the CO time interval for the second sidelink transmission of the second terminal device 120 as the first shared CO time interval. On the other hand, if the second priority value is equal to or greater than the first priority value, the second terminal device 120 may determine the transmission offset and compare the shared CO time interval with the transmission offset. In the example in Figure 5C, since the transmission offset is smaller than the first shared CO time interval, the second terminal device 120 may determine the CO time interval as the transmission offset.

[0071] In some embodiments, the second terminal device 120 may receive resource allocation information from the first terminal device 110 to the first terminal device 110. The second terminal device 120 may then determine a shared subband or RB set associated with the first shared CO time interval based on the resource allocation information.

[0072] In some embodiments, the second terminal device 120 may determine a plurality of time resources and frequency resources for the first terminal device 110 based on resource allocation information. The second terminal device 120 may then determine at least one subband or RB set in which the first time resource and frequency resource among the plurality of time resources and frequency resources is located within a shared subband or RB set. This will be illustrated with reference to Figure 5D.

[0073] Figure 5D shows an example of a shared CO time interval according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In the example of Figure 5D, depending on the success of the LBT procedure prior to slot 0, the first terminal device 110 transmits a PSCCH or PSSCH and information about the first shared CO time interval within slot 0. The first terminal device 110 may also indicate within the SCI on the PSCCH in slot 0 the resources in slot 0 for the current transmission and the resources in slots 6 and 9 reserved for subsequent sidelink transmissions.

[0074] Upon receiving an SCI from the first terminal device 110, the second terminal device 120 may determine three time-frequency resources from the "Frequency resource assignment" and "time resource assignment" fields of the SCI. The three time-frequency resources include a resource 510 located in subbands #0 and #1 in slot 0 (the earliest resource or starting resource), a resource 520 located in subbands #1 and #2 in slot 6, and a resource 530 located in subbands #2 and #3 in slot 9. The second terminal device 120 may determine that subbands #0 and #1, where resource 510 is located, are shared subbands or RB sets.

[0075] In some embodiments, the first terminal device 110 may determine the remaining time of the CO started by the second terminal device 110 as the remaining COT.

[0076] In some embodiments, the first terminal device 110 may receive information regarding the second shared CO time interval from the third terminal device 130. The first terminal device 110 may then determine that the end of the second shared CO time interval marks the end of the remaining COT.

[0077] In some embodiments, the first terminal device 110 may receive information regarding the second shared CO time interval within the fourth resource. In some such embodiments, the first terminal device 110 may transmit information regarding the first shared CO time interval within the fifth resource. To ensure that the first terminal device 110 has time to process the information regarding the second shared CO time interval and prepare the information regarding the first shared CO time interval, the time offset between the fourth resource and the fifth resource may be greater than the offset threshold. For example, consider the example shown in Figure 5E. The first terminal device 110 receives information regarding the second shared CO time interval from the third terminal device 130 within slot 0. The first terminal device 110 transmits information regarding the first shared CO time interval within slot 5. There are five slots between slot 0 and slot 5. In this example, the offset threshold may be one slot or a few microseconds.

[0078] In some embodiments, the first terminal device 110 may receive information regarding the third shared CO time interval from a fourth terminal device (not shown) and information regarding the fourth shared CO time interval from a fifth terminal device (not shown). The first terminal device 110 may compare the end of the third shared CO time interval with the end of the fourth shared CO time interval. Then, based on this comparison, the first terminal device 110 may determine that the end of either the third or fourth shared CO time interval is the end of the remaining COT.

[0079] In some embodiments, if the end of the third shared CO time interval is later than the end of the fourth shared CO time interval, the first terminal device 110 may determine the end of the third shared CO time interval as the end of the remaining COT. This will be explained with reference to Figure 5F.

[0080] Figure 5F is a diagram showing an example of a shared CO time interval according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In the example in Figure 5F, the fifth terminal device transmits information regarding the fourth shared CO time interval in slot 0, and the fourth terminal device transmits information regarding the third shared CO time interval in slot 4. The fourth shared CO time interval includes slots 0 to 7, and the third shared CO time interval includes slots 4 to 9. Upon receiving the information regarding the third and fourth shared CO time intervals, the first terminal device 110 may compare the end of the third shared CO time interval with the end of the fourth shared CO time interval. Since the end of the third shared CO time interval is later than the end of the fourth shared CO time interval, the first terminal device 110 determines that the end of the third shared CO time interval is the end of the remaining COT.

[0081] In such embodiments, the shared subbands or RB sets associated with the third shared CO time interval may completely overlap with the shared subbands or RB sets associated with the fourth shared CO time interval. For example, consider the example shown in Figure 5F. The shared subbands associated with the third shared CO time interval include subbands #0 and #1. The shared subbands associated with the fourth shared CO time interval also include subbands #0 and #1. Therefore, the shared subbands associated with the third shared CO time interval completely overlap with the shared subbands associated with the fourth shared CO time interval.

[0082] In some embodiments, if the end of the third shared CO time interval and the end of the fourth shared CO time interval are the same, the first terminal device 110 may determine that the end of the third shared CO time interval or the end of the fourth shared CO time interval is the end of the remaining COT.

[0083] In some embodiments, if the end of a third shared CO time interval and the end of a fourth shared CO time interval are the same, the first Channel Access Priority Class (CAPC) associated with the third shared CO time interval is compared with the second CAPC associated with the fourth shared CO time interval. If the first CAPC is higher than the second CAPC, the first terminal device 110 may determine the first CAPC as the associated CAPC for the remaining COT. If the second CAPC is higher than the first CAPC, the first terminal device 110 may determine the second CAPC as the associated CAPC for the remaining COT.

[0084] In some embodiments, the shared subband or RB set associated with the third shared CO time interval does not have to completely overlap with the shared subband or RB set associated with the fourth shared CO time interval. In such embodiments, if the end of the third shared CO time interval is earlier than the end of the fourth shared CO time interval, the first terminal device 110 may determine the end of the third shared CO time interval as the end of the remaining COT. This will be explained with reference to Figures 5G and 5H.

[0085] Figures 5G and 5H show examples of shared CO time intervals according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, respectively. In the example in Figure 5G, the fifth terminal device transmits information regarding the fourth shared CO time interval in slot 0, and the fourth terminal device transmits information regarding the third shared CO time interval in slot 4. The fourth shared CO time interval includes slots 0 to 8, and the third shared CO time interval includes slots 4 to 9. The shared subbands associated with the fourth shared CO time interval also include subbands #0 and #1. The shared subbands associated with the third shared CO time interval include subbands #1 and #2. Therefore, the shared subbands associated with the third shared CO time interval do not completely overlap with the shared subbands associated with the fourth shared CO time interval.

[0086] Upon receiving information regarding the third shared CO time interval and information regarding the fourth shared CO time interval, the first terminal device 110 may compare the end of the third shared CO time interval with the end of the fourth shared CO time interval. If the end of the fourth shared CO time interval is earlier than the end of the third shared CO time interval, the first terminal device 110 determines that the end of the fourth shared CO time interval is the end of the remaining COT.

[0087] In the example in Figure 5H, the fifth terminal device transmits information about the fourth shared CO time interval in slot 0, and the fourth terminal device transmits information about the third shared CO time interval in slot 4. Additionally, the first terminal device 110 obtains the first CO in slot 6 by executing an LBT type 1 procedure. The fourth shared CO time interval includes slots 0-8, the third shared CO time interval includes slots 4-9, and the first CO time interval includes slots 6-15. The shared subband associated with the fourth shared CO time interval also includes subband #0. The shared subband associated with the third shared CO time interval includes subband #2. The shared subband associated with the first COT includes subband #1. Therefore, the shared subband associated with the third shared CO time interval does not completely overlap with the shared subband associated with the fourth shared CO time interval and the shared subband associated with the first COT.

[0088] Upon receiving information regarding the third shared CO time interval and information regarding the fourth shared CO time interval, the first terminal device 110 may compare the end of the third shared CO time interval with the end of the fourth shared CO time interval and the end of the first COT. If the end of the fourth shared CO time interval is earlier than the end of the third shared CO time interval and the end of the first COT, the first terminal device 110 determines that the end of the fourth shared CO time interval is the end of the remaining COT.

[0089] Figure 6 is a flowchart of an exemplary method 600 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, method 600 may be implemented in a terminal device, for example, one of terminal devices 110, 120, and 130 as shown in Figure 1. For illustrative purposes, method 600 will be described, without loss of generality, as being implemented by terminal device 110 with reference to Figure 1.

[0090] In block 610, the first terminal device 110 determines the first shared CO time interval based on at least one of the remaining COT, a first priority value for subsequent sidelink transmissions by the first terminal device, or a first resource for said subsequent sidelink transmissions.

[0091] In block 620, the first terminal device 110 transmits information regarding the first shared CO time interval.

[0092] In some embodiments, determining the first shared CO time interval includes comparing the remaining COT with a transmit offset if the first priority value is lower than a priority threshold, wherein the transmit offset is a time offset between a second resource to which information regarding the first shared CO time interval is transmitted and the first resource for the subsequent sidelink transmission; determining the remaining COT as the first shared CO time interval if the remaining COT is smaller than the transmit offset; and determining the transmit offset as the first shared CO time interval if the transmit offset is smaller than the remaining COT.

[0093] In some embodiments, determining the first shared CO time interval includes determining the remaining COT as the first shared CO time interval if the first priority value is equal to or greater than the priority threshold, or if the priority threshold is not set.

[0094] In some embodiments, transmitting information regarding the first shared CO time interval includes transmitting the information in a first sidelink transmission within a third resource that overlaps in the frequency domain with the first resource for the subsequent sidelink transmission.

[0095] In some embodiments, the method 600 further includes determining the remaining time of the channel occupancy (CO) initiated by the first terminal device as the remaining COT.

[0096] In some embodiments, the method 600 further includes receiving information about a second shared CO time interval from a third terminal device and determining the end of the second shared CO time interval as the end of the remaining COT.

[0097] In some embodiments, receiving information regarding the second shared CO time interval includes receiving the information regarding the second shared CO time interval within a fourth resource, and transmitting information regarding the first shared CO time interval includes transmitting the information regarding the first shared CO time interval within a fifth resource, wherein the time offset between the fourth resource and the fifth resource is greater than an offset threshold.

[0098] In some embodiments, the method 600 further includes receiving information about a third shared CO time interval from a fourth terminal device, receiving information about a fourth shared CO time interval from a fifth terminal device, comparing the end of the third shared CO time interval with the end of the fourth shared CO time interval, and determining, based on the comparison, that the end of either the third shared CO time interval or the fourth shared CO time interval is the end of the remaining COT.

[0099] In some embodiments, the shared subband or resource block (RB) set associated with the third shared CO time interval completely overlaps with the shared subband or RB set associated with the fourth shared CO time interval.

[0100] In some embodiments, determining the remaining COT includes determining the end of the third shared CO time interval as the end of the remaining COT if the end of the third shared CO time interval is later than the end of the fourth shared CO time interval.

[0101] In some embodiments, determining the remaining COT includes determining the end of the third shared CO time interval or the end of the fourth shared CO time interval as the end of the remaining COT if the end of the third shared CO time interval and the end of the fourth shared CO time interval are the same.

[0102] In some embodiments, Method 600 further includes, if the end of the third shared CO time interval and the end of the fourth shared CO time interval are the same, comparing a first Channel Access Priority Class (CAPC) associated with the third shared CO time interval with a second CAPC associated with the fourth shared CO time interval; determining the first CAPC as the associated CAPC for the remaining COT if the first CAPC is higher than the second CAPC; and determining the second CAPC as the associated CAPC for the remaining COT if the second CAPC is higher than the first CAPC.

[0103] In some embodiments, the set of shared subbands or resource blocks (RBs) associated with the third shared CO time interval does not completely overlap with the set of shared subbands or resource blocks (RBs) associated with the fourth shared CO time interval.

[0104] In some embodiments, determining the remaining COT includes determining the end of the third shared CO time interval as the end of the remaining COT if the end of the third shared CO time interval is earlier than the end of the fourth shared CO time interval.

[0105] Figure 7 is a flowchart of an exemplary method 700 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, method 700 may be implemented in a terminal device, for example, one of terminal devices 110, 120, and 130 as shown in Figure 1. For illustrative purposes, method 700 will be described, without loss of generality, as being implemented by terminal device 120 with reference to Figure 1.

[0106] In block 710, the second terminal device 120 receives information about the shared CO from the first terminal device.

[0107] In block 720, the second terminal device 120 determines the CO for the second sidelink transmission of the second terminal device based on at least one of the following: a shared CO, a first priority value for subsequent sidelink transmissions of the first terminal device, a second priority value for the second sidelink transmission, or potential resources for subsequent sidelink transmissions.

[0108] In some embodiments, determining the CO includes determining the CO as the shared CO if the second priority value is smaller than the first priority value.

[0109] In some embodiments, determining the CO includes determining a transmission offset between the resource receiving information about the shared CO and the potential resource if the second priority value is greater than or equal to the first priority value; determining the CO as the shared CO if the time interval of the shared CO is less than the transmission offset; and determining the time interval of the CO as the transmission offset if the transmission offset is less than the time interval of the shared CO.

[0110] In some embodiments, the method 700 further includes receiving resource allocation information for the first terminal device from the first terminal device, and determining a set of shared subbands or resource blocks (RBs) associated with the shared CO based on the resource allocation information.

[0111] In some embodiments, determining the shared subband or RB set includes determining a plurality of frequency resources for the first terminal device based on the resource allocation information, and determining at least one subband or RB set in which the starting frequency resource is located as the shared subband or RB set.

[0112] Figure 8 is a schematic block diagram of a device 800 suitable for implementing some embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 800 can be considered as another exemplary embodiment of the terminal device 110 or terminal device 120 shown in Figure 1. Thus, the device 800 may be implemented in or as part of the terminal device 110 or 120.

[0113] As illustrated, the device 800 comprises a processor 810, a memory 820 coupled to the processor 810, appropriate transmitters (TX) and receivers (RX) 840 coupled to the processor 810, and a communication interface coupled to the TX / RX 840. The memory 820 stores at least a portion of the program 830. The TX / RX 840 is used for bidirectional communication. The TX / RX 840 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication, although the access node referred to herein may actually have multiple antennas. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary for communication with other network elements, such as an X2 interface for bidirectional communication between gNBs or eNBs, an S1 interface for communication between a Mobility Management Entity (MME) / Serving Gateway (S-GW) and an eNB, an Un interface for communication between a gNB or eNB and a relay node (RN), or a Uu interface for communication between a gNB or eNB and a terminal device.

[0114] It is assumed that program 830 includes program instructions that, when executed by the associated processor 810, enable the device 800 to operate according to embodiments of the present disclosure, as described herein with reference to Figures 1 to 7. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by computer software executable by the processor 810 of the device 800, by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The processor 810 may be configured to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure. Furthermore, a combination of the processor 810 and memory 820 may form a processing means 850 suitable for implementing various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0115] Memory 820 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as non-temporary computer-readable storage media, semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory, as non-limiting examples. Although only one memory 820 is shown in device 800, there may be several physically different memory modules in device 800. Processor 810 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network and may include, as non-limiting examples, one or more of general-purpose computers, dedicated computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), and processors based on multicore processor architectures. Device 800 may have multiple processors, for example, application-specific integrated circuit chips that are temporally dependent on a clock that synchronizes the main processor.

[0116] The components included in the equipment and / or apparatus of this disclosure may be implemented in various forms, including software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. In one embodiment, one or more units can be implemented using software and / or firmware, such as machine-executable instructions stored on a storage medium. In addition to, or instead of, machine-executable instructions, some or all of the units in the equipment and / or apparatus may be implemented at least partially by one or more hardware logic components. Exemplary types of usable hardware logic components include, but are not limited to, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), application-specific general-purpose products (ASSPs), systems on a chip (SOCs), and composite programmable logic devices (CPLDs).

[0117] Overall, various embodiments of the Disclosure may be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuitry, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some embodiments may be implemented in hardware, while others may be implemented in firmware or software that can be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various embodiments of the Disclosure are illustrated and described using block diagrams, flowcharts, or any other pictorial representation, it should be understood that any blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented, in non-limiting examples, in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuitry or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or any combination thereof.

[0118] This disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-temporary computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as instructions contained in a program module, which are executed within a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform the processes or methods described above with reference to any one of Figures 1 to 7. Generally, a program module includes routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc., that perform a specific task or realize a specific abstract data type. In various embodiments, the functions of program modules may be combined or separated among program modules as needed. The machine-executable instructions of a program module may be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules may reside in both local and remote storage media.

[0119] Program code for performing the methods of this disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes may be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a dedicated computer, or other programmable data processing device, and when executed by the processor or controller, the program code may implement the functions / operations specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams. The program code may run entirely on a machine, partially on a machine, as an independent software package, partially on a machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0120] The program code described above may be implemented on a machine-readable medium, which may be any tangible medium that can contain or store programs used by or associated with an instruction execution system, device, or apparatus. The machine-readable medium may be a machine-readable signal medium or a machine-readable storage medium. The machine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, devices, or apparatus, or any suitable combination of the aforementioned mediums. More specific examples of machine-readable storage media may include electrical connections with one or more wires, portable computer disks, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fibers, portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination of the above.

[0121] While the operations have been described in a specific order, it should not be understood that, in order to obtain the desired results, these operations must be performed in the specific order shown, or in a sequential order, or that all of the described operations must be performed. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, while details of several specific embodiments are included in the above discussion, these should not be interpreted as limitations on the scope of this disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to those embodiments. Some features described in the context of individual embodiments may be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single embodiment may be implemented separately in multiple embodiments or in any suitable subcombination.

[0122] While this disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological behavior, it should be understood that the disclosure as defined in the attached claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or behaviors described above. Rather, the specific features and behaviors described above are disclosed as exemplary forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A method performed by a first terminal device, In the first slot, within the resource block (RB) set, the transmission of a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) containing sidelink control information (SCI), or the transmission of a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), Based on the SCI, a sidelink transmission is sent within the RB set, Includes, The SCI includes channel occupancy (CO) sharing information, a frequency resource allocation field associated with resource reserves, and a time resource allocation field. The frequency resource allocation field indicates the RB set, The aforementioned time resource allocation field indicates a second number of slots, and the RB set is associated with the first slot among the second number of slots. method.

2. A method performed by a second terminal device, In the first slot, within the resource block (RB) set, transmit a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) transmission containing sidelink control information (SCI), or a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) transmission, Based on the aforementioned SCI, the RB set receives a sidelink transmission, Includes, The SCI includes channel occupancy (CO) sharing information, a frequency resource allocation field associated with resource reserves, and a time resource allocation field. The frequency resource allocation field indicates the RB set, The aforementioned time resource allocation field indicates a second number of slots, and the RB set is associated with the first slot among the second number of slots. method.

3. In the first slot, within a resource block (RB) set, means for receiving transmissions of physical sidelink control channels (PSCCH) containing sidelink control information (SCI), or transmissions of physical sidelink shared channels (PSSCH), Means for transmitting sidelink transmissions within the RB set based on the SCI, Equipped with, The SCI includes channel occupancy (CO) sharing information, a frequency resource allocation field associated with resource reserves, and a time resource allocation field. The frequency resource allocation field indicates the RB set, The aforementioned time resource allocation field indicates a second number of slots, and the RB set is associated with the first slot among the second number of slots. The first terminal device.

4. In the first slot, means for transmitting a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) transmission or a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) transmission containing sidelink control information (SCI) within a resource block (RB) set, Based on the SCI, means for receiving sidelink transmissions within the RB set, Equipped with, The SCI includes channel occupancy (CO) sharing information, a frequency resource allocation field associated with resource reserves, and a time resource allocation field. The frequency resource allocation field indicates the RB set, The aforementioned time resource allocation field indicates a second number of slots, and the RB set is associated with the first slot among the second number of slots. The second terminal device.

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