Resource block (RB) configuration for frequency domain resources

Abstract

A method, system, and apparatus for resource block (RB) set configuration in an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) network for frequency domain resources are disclosed. According to one aspect, a method in an IAB donor node communicating with a first IAB node includes receiving a resource multiplexing capability from the first IAB node. The method includes determining a resource block (RB) set configuration based at least in part on the resource multiplexing capability. The method further includes determining a DU resource configuration for the first IAB node based at least in part on the RB set configuration and transmitting the DU resource configuration to the first IAB node.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to wireless communication, and more particularly to resource block (RB) set configuration in an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) network for frequency domain resources.

Background Art

[0002] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP™) has developed and is continuing to develop standards for 4th generation (4G) (also known as Long Term Evolution (LTE)) and 5th generation (5G) (also known as New Radio (NR)) wireless communication systems. Such systems provide broadband communication between network nodes such as base stations and mobile wireless devices (WDs), and communication between network nodes and between WDs, among other features. 6th generation (6G) wireless communication systems are also under development.

[0003] Overview of Integrated Access and Backhaul Increasing the density by deploying a greater number of base stations (macrocell base stations or micro base stations) is one mechanism that can be used to meet the ever-increasing demand for more bandwidth and capacity in mobile networks. Since more spectrum is available in the millimeter wave (mmW) band, deploying small cells operating in this band is an attractive deployment option for these purposes. However, laying fiber up to small cells is a common way of installing small cells, which can be very expensive and impractical. Therefore, using a wireless link to connect small cells to an operator's network is a more flexible, faster-to-market, cheaper, and practical alternative.

[0004] One such solution is an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) network, where operators can utilize a portion of the radio resources for backhaul links.

[0005] Figure 1 shows an IAB deployment supporting multiple hops. The IAB donor node (IAB donor 2) has a wired connection to the core network, while IAB nodes 3 and 4 are wirelessly connected to IAB donor 2, either directly or indirectly via another IAB node, using NR. The connection between IAB donor node 2 and WD is called an access link, while the connections between the two IAB nodes 3 and 4, or between IAB donor 2 and IAB node 3, are called backhaul links.

[0006] Figure 2 shows a parent node 6 connected by a backhaul link to an IAB node 7, which is connected by another backhaul link to a child node 8. Parent node 6 is upstream of IAB child node 8, and child node 8 is downstream of IAB node 7. Adjacent downstream nodes further away from an IAB donor node are called child nodes of the IAB node. The backhaul link between a parent node and an IAB node is called a parent (backhaul) link, while the backhaul link between an IAB node and a child node is called a child (backhaul) link.

[0007] IAB Architecture One difference between the IAB architecture and 3GPP® Technical Specification Release 10 (3GPP® Rel-10) LTE relay (apart from lower-layer differences) is that the IAB architecture employs a CU / DU (centralized unit / distributed unit) split of the gNB. In such a split, time-critical functions are implemented in the DU, which is closer to the radio station, while non-time-critical functions are placed in the CU, with the opportunity for centralization. Based on this architecture, an IAB donor contains both CU and DU functions. In particular, it contains all the CU functions of an IAB node under the same IAB donor. Each IAB node then hosts the DU function(s) of the gNB. To enable the transmission and reception of radio signals to and from upstream IAB nodes or IAB donors, each IAB node has a mobile termination (MT), and the logical unit provides the required set of WD-like functions. Through the DU, the IAB node establishes a radio link control (RLC) channel to the WD and / or MT of the connected IAB node. Through the MT, the IAB node establishes a backhaul radio interface to the serving IAB node or IAB donor. Figure 3 shows a reference diagram of a two-hop chain of IAB nodes under an IAB donor.

[0008] Resource Configuration Time-domain resource coordination In in-band operation, IAB nodes are typically subject to a half-duplex constraint, meaning that an IAB node can only be in either transmit or receive mode at any given time. IABs compliant with 3GPP® Rel-16 primarily consider time-division multiplexing (TDM) cases where MT and DU resources of the same IAB node are temporally separated. Based on this consideration, the following resource types are defined for IAB MT and DU, respectively.

[0009] As in 3GPP® Rel-15, from the perspective of IAB node MT, the following time-domain resources may be indicated for parent links. ● Downlink (DL) time resources ● Uplink (UL) time resources, and / or ● Flexible (F) time resources.

[0010] From the perspective of IAB node DU, Childlink has the following types of time resources ● Download time resources ● UL Time Resources ● F-time resources, and / or ● Unavailable (NA) time resources (resources not used for communication on DU Childlink).

[0011] Each of the DU Childlink downlink, uplink, and flexible time resource types can belong to one of two categories: ● Hard (H): The corresponding time resources are always available in DU Childlink. ● Soft (S): The availability of corresponding time resources for DU childlinks is explicitly and / or implicitly controlled by the parent node.

[0012] IAB DU resources are configured on a per-cell basis, and the H / S / NA attributes for DU resource configuration are explicitly indicated for each resource type (D / U / F) in each slot. As a result, the semi-static time-domain resources in the DU portion can total be seven types: downlink hard (DL-H), downlink soft (DL-S), uplink hard (UL-H), uplink soft (UL-S), flexible hard (FH), flexible soft (FS), and unavailable (NA). The coordination relationships between MT resources and DU resources are listed in Table 1.

[0013] Table 1: Coordination between MT resources and DU resources of an IAB node.

[0014] ┌───────┬─────────────────────────────┐ │ │ MT Configuration │ │ ├─────────┬─────────┬─────────┤ │ │ DL │ UL │ Flexible │ ├──┬────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┤ │ │DL-H│DU: Unlimited DL│DU: Unlimited DL│DU: Unlimited DL│ │ │ │ Can be sent │ Can be sent │ Can be sent │ │ │ │MT:Unavailable │MT:Unavailable │MT:Unavailable │ │ ├────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┤ │ │DL-S│DU:Conditional │DU:Conditional │DU:Conditional │ │ │ │ Sendable │ Sendable │ Sendable │ │DU│ │MT:DL available│MT:UL available│MT:DL and UL│ │Con│ │ │ │Available│ │Fi├────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┤ │Gyu│UL-H│DU:Unlimited UL│DU:Unlimited UL│DU:Unlimited UL│ │Ray│ │Schedule available│Schedule available│Schedule available│ │Sho│ │MT:Unavailable │MT:Unavailable │MT:Unavailable │ │n ├────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┤ │ │UL-S│DU: Unlimited UL│DU: Unlimited DL│DU: Unlimited DL│ │ │ │Schedule available│Sendable│Sendable│ │ │ │ MT: Available for DL │ MT: Available for UL │ MT: Available for both DL and UL │ │ │ │ │ │ Available │ │ ├────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┤ │ │ F-H │ DU: Without restrictions │ DU: Without restrictions │ DU: Without restrictions for DL │ │ │ │ Can transmit DL │ Can transmit DL │ Can transmit DL │ │ │ │ UL scheduling possible │ UL scheduling possible │ UL scheduling possible │ │ │ │ MT: Unavailable │ MT: Unavailable │ MT: Unavailable │ │ ├────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┤ │ │ F-S │ DU: Conditionally │ DU: Conditionally │ DU: Conditionally │ │ │ │ Can transmit DL │ Can transmit DL │ Can transmit DL │ │ │ │ UL scheduling possible │ UL scheduling possible │ UL scheduling possible │ │ │ │ MT: Available for DL │ MT: Available for UL │ MT: Available for both DL and UL │ │ │ │ │ │ Available │ │ ├────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┤ │ │ NA │ DU: Unavailable │ DU: Unavailable │ DU: Unavailable │ │ │ │ MT: Available for DL │ MT: Available for UL │ MT: Available for both DL and UL │ │ │ │ │ │ Available │ └──┴────┴─────────┴─────────┴─────────┘

[0015] An example of the DU configuration is shown in Figure 4.

[0016] Frequency Domain Resource Configuration Alongside time-domain resource coordination between IAB-MT and collated IAB-DU via time-domain H / S / NA, frequency-domain resources can also be coordinated by allocating H / S / NA to frequency-domain resource blocks (RBs). The following assumptions can be made: ● Hard (H): When a frequency resource is configured as hard, the IAB-DU may transmit, receive, or transmit or receive, according to that configuration; ● Soft (S): When a frequency resource is set as soft, the IAB-DU may transmit, receive, or transmit / receive only if it does not affect the actual ability of the IAB-MT to operate on that resource. ● Unavailable (NA): IAB-DU cannot use the resource.

[0017] According to the 3GPP® Rel-17 Extended IAB Work Item Description (WID), the following duplex extensions may be specified: ● Child link and parent link for IAB nodes (MT Tx / DU) T Supports simultaneous operation (transmit and receive) of x, MT Tx / DU Rx, MT Rx / DU Tx, MT Rx / DU Rx, and MT Rx / DU Rx.

[0018] The 3GPP® Rel-16 IAB standard primarily considers time-division multiplexing (TDM) cases where IAB-MT and IAB-DU resources on the same IAB node are temporally separated. The 3GPP® Rel-17 IAB standard addresses both frequency-division multiplexing (FDM) and spatial-division multiplexing (SDM) resource allocation cases between IAB-MT and IAB-DU.

[0019] Regarding the frequency domain H / S / NA resource configuration at recent RAN1 meetings, the following was considered: RAN1 #105-e Consideration items: Support for the extension of semi-static DU resource type indication to frequency domain resources within carriers for H / S / NA resource types (in addition to the existing carrier-based granularity in 3GPP® Rel-16).

[0020] Consideration item: The minimum resource size for configuring (setting) frequency domain granularity is a set of N resource blocks (RBs): ● Candidate values ​​for N: {4, 8, 16, other values ​​determined (TBD)}; ● N is at least the number of physical resource blocks (PRBs), and this number corresponds to the number of PRBs in the MT's RBG; ● Future research topic (FFS): Scaling or configuration of N based on the size of the system bandwidth (BW) or IAB-MT bandwidth part (BWP).

[0021] RAN1 #106-e Consideration items: The semi-static configuration of H / S / NA resource types in the frequency domain is provided for each D / U / F resource type in the slot, and for each RB set.

[0022] Consideration item: N is the number of PRBs that are constructed, where CUs constitute N: ● N = {2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64} ● FFS: The value of N when multiple BWPs are configured in IAB-MT, and ● This does not invalidate the existing RAN1 agreement.

[0023] RAN1 #106bis-e Consideration item: N, a single value for the RB setting size, is configured for the 3GPP® Rel-17 frequency domain H / S / NA configuration of a given IAB-DU cell.

[0024] In the case of simultaneous operation of IAB-MT and collated IAB-DU, frequency domain resource coordination can be achieved by partitioning the IAB-DU frequency resources and assigning them as H / S / NA. The IAB-DU frequency H / S / NA configuration depends on the overlap (degree of overlap) of the IAB-MT frequency resources and the IAB-DU frequency resources. As considered in RAN1#106bis-e, the IAB-DU is configured with only one single value N for the size of the resource block (RB) set, i.e., only N RBs per RB set. Since the range of frequency domain resources is not specified, there is ambiguity in that the RB set configuration has only one value, N. [Overview of the project]

[0025] Some embodiments advantageously provide methods, systems, and apparatus for configuring resource block (RB) sets in an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) network for frequency domain resources.

[0026] For example, how to efficiently specify the range for RB sets to avoid unnecessary signaling and how to specify RB set mapping in the frequency domain (e.g., using RB set indexing). Furthermore, IAB donor nodes, parent nodes, and IAB nodes should have a common understanding of the RB set configuration, including frequency domain mapping (e.g., indexing).

[0027] Some embodiments include a method for configuring an RB set of IAB-DU, which includes frequency-domain mapping (e.g., indexing) so that an IAB donor node, a parent node, and an IAB node can have a common understanding of the mapping between the spectrum and the RB set, and the RB set includes a complete RB set of IAB-DU cells and an incomplete RB set (which may exist because the IAB-DU carrier bandwidth is not an integer multiple of the RB set).

[0028] Some embodiments allow the IAB-DU to have an appropriate and efficient RB set configuration by taking into account the BWP of the IAB-MT. Some embodiments also allow the donor CU and parent node to efficiently configure and coordinate frequency domain resources based on the multiplexing conditions between the IAB-DU and the co-located IAB-MT. This method is also useful for reducing the signaling overhead of resource configuration.

[0029] According to one embodiment, a method in a first integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, the first IAB node comprising a mobile termination (MT) unit and a distributed unit (DU), the method comprising receiving an IAB-DU cell-and-carrier configuration from a second network node, the second network node being one of an IAB donor CU and a parent IAB node, and the second network node being upstream of the first IAB node. The method also comprises reporting resource multiplexing capability to the second network node. The method also comprises receiving a resource block (RB) set configuration from the second IAB network node, the RB set configuration having an IAB-DU hard / soft / unavailable (H / S / NA) resource configuration, the IAB-DU H / S / NA resource configuration being at least partially based on resource multiplexing capability. This method also includes mapping a set of resource blocks (RBs) of a DU based at least in part on an IAB-DU H / S / NA resource configuration and an IAB-DU cell-and-carrier configuration.

[0030] According to this embodiment, in some embodiments, the method includes receiving a BWP configuration from a second network node and mapping RB sets to the BWP based in part on the BWP configuration. According to some embodiments, the mapping includes allocating an integer N physical resource blocks (PRBs) to each RB set in a first set of RB sets, and allocating an integer N of PRBs to the remaining RB sets if the IAB-DU frequency resource does not encompass all available PRBs. According to some embodiments, the mapping depends at least in part on whether an RB set of size N can encompass all available RBs, where N is an integer greater than 1. According to some embodiments, if the RB sets of the IAB-DU H / S / NA resource configuration do not cover the entire carrier bandwidth, the remaining RBs that are not part of the RB set configuration are considered to be included in the last RB set. According to some embodiments, the RB set configuration includes an index pointing to the lowest RB in the first IAB-DU cell-and-carrier configuration. According to some embodiments, the starting RB index of a first RB set for an IAB-DU H / S / NA resource configuration is the lowest RB index in the IAB-DU cell. According to some embodiments, the IAB-DU cell and carrier configuration is at least partially based on a carrier received from an IAB donor CU and configured by an Operation and Management Function (OAM). According to some embodiments, the resource multiplexing capability for the MT units and DUs of a first IAB node includes at least one of time division multiplexing indications, TDM requirements, frequency division multiplexing (FDM) requirements, and transmit / receive status indications for the DU and MT units. According to some embodiments, the method also includes receiving an RB set configuration from a second network node, where the RB set configuration includes at least one of an RB set size indication, an indication of a mapping method for determining the mapping of the RB sets, the number of RB sets, and an indication of an indexing method for indexing the RB sets.According to some embodiments, the IAB-DU H / S / NA resource configuration includes a time-domain configuration, a frequency-domain configuration, and an indication of which slots should be time-domain multiplexed (TDM) and which slots should be frequency-domain multiplexed (FDM), and at least one of these. According to some embodiments, the method also includes receiving an indication of availability for a subset of RB sets configured as soft. According to some embodiments, the DU of a first IAB node schedules resources based at least in part on the IAB-DU H / S / NA resource configuration. According to some embodiments, the maximum number of contiguous and non-overlapping RB sets configurable per cell in an IAB-DU cell-and-carrier configuration is eight.

[0031] In another embodiment, a first integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node is provided, the first IAB node including a mobile termination (MT) unit and a distributed unit (DU). The first IAB node includes a radio interface configured to receive an IAB-DU cell and carrier configuration from a second network node, the second network node being one of an IAB donor CU and a parent IAB node, and the second network node being upstream of the first IAB node. The radio interface is further configured to report resource multiplexing capability to the second network node and to receive a resource block (RB) set configuration from the second IAB network node, the RB set configuration having an IAB-DU hard / soft / flexible (H / S / NA) resource configuration, the IAB-DU H / S / NA resource configuration being at least partially based on resource multiplexing capability. The first IAB node also includes processing circuitry configured to map a set of resource blocks (RBs) of the DU, at least in part, based on the IAB-DU H / S / NA resource configuration and the IAB-DU cell-and-carrier configuration, and to communicate with a radio interface.

[0032] In this manner OkeruAccording to some embodiments, the radio interface is further configured to receive a BWP configuration from a second network node and to map RB sets to the BWP based in part on the BWP configuration. According to some embodiments, the mapping includes allocating an integer N physical resource blocks (PRBs) to each RB set in a first set of multiple RB sets, and allocating an integer N of PRBs to the remaining RB sets if the IAB-DU H / S / NA frequency resource does not encompass all available PRBs. According to some embodiments, the mapping depends at least in part on whether an RB set of size N can encompass all available RBs, where N is an integer greater than 1. According to some embodiments, if the number of RB sets in an IAB-DU H / S / NA resource configuration exceeds N times the maximum number of RB sets M, the remaining RBs that are not part of the RB set configuration are considered to be included in the last RB set, where N and M are integers greater than zero. According to some embodiments, the RB set configuration includes an index pointing to the lowest RB in the first IAB-DU cell and carrier configuration. According to some embodiments, the starting RB index of the first RB set for the IAB-DU H / S / NA resource configuration is the lowest RB index in the IAB-DU cell. According to some embodiments, the IAB-DU cell and carrier configuration is at least partially based on a carrier received from the IAB donor CU and configured by the Operation and Management Function (OAM). According to some embodiments, the resource multiplexing capability for the MT units and DUs of the first IAB node includes at least one of the following: indication of time-division multiplexing (TDM) requirements, indication of frequency-division multiplexing (FDM) requirements, and indication of the transmit / receive status of the DU and MT units.According to some embodiments, the radio interface is further configured to receive RB set configurations from a second network node, where the RB set configuration includes at least one of an indication of the RB set size, an indication of a mapping method used to determine the mapping of the RB sets, the number of RB sets, and an indication of an indexing method used to index the RB sets. According to some embodiments, the IAB-DU H / S / NA resource configuration includes at least one of a time-domain configuration, a frequency-domain configuration, and an indication of which slots should be time-domain multiplexed (TDM) and which slots should be frequency-domain multiplexed (FDM). According to some embodiments, the radio interface is further configured to receive availability indications for a subset of RB sets configured as soft. According to some embodiments, the DU of the first IAB node schedules resources based at least in part on the IAB-DU H / S / NA resource configuration. According to some embodiments, the maximum number of consecutive and non-overlapping RB sets configurable per cell in an IAB-DU cell-and-carrier configuration is 8.

[0033] In yet another embodiment, a method in an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) donor node, the IAB donor node communicating with a first IAB node, the first IAB node being downstream of the IAB donor node. The method includes receiving resource multiplexing capability from the first IAB node; determining a resource block (RB) set configuration at least in part on the resource multiplexing capability; determining a DU resource configuration for the first IAB node at least in part on the RB set configuration; and transmitting the DU resource configuration to the first IAB node.

[0034] In this manner OkeruAccording to some embodiments, the method further includes omitting the frequency domain configuration of hard / soft / inapplicable (H / S / NA) attributes from the DU resource configuration if the RB sets in the RB set configuration do not overlap with BWPs. According to some embodiments, the DU resource configuration includes an IAB-DU cell-and-carrier configuration to a first IAB. According to some embodiments, the maximum number of consecutive and non-overlapping RB sets configurable per cell in the IAB-DU cell-and-carrier configuration is 8. According to some embodiments, the RB set configuration includes at least one of an indication of the RB set size, the number of RB sets, an indication of a mapping method used by the first IAB node to determine the mapping of the RB sets, and an indication of an indexing method used to index the RB sets. According to some embodiments, transmitting the DU resource configuration to a first IAB node includes transmitting the DU resource configuration via the F1 Application Protocol (AP).

[0035] In another embodiment, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) donor node is provided, which communicates with a first IAB node, where the first IAB node is downstream of the IAB donor node. The IAB donor node includes a radio interface configured to receive resource multiplexing capability from the first IAB node. The IAB donor node also includes processing circuitry that can communicate with the radio interface and is configured to determine a resource block (RB) set configuration at least partially based on the resource multiplexing capability, and to determine a DU resource configuration for the first IAB node at least partially based on the RB set configuration. The radio interface is further configured to transmit the DU resource configuration to the first IAB node.

[0036] In this manner OkeruAccording to some embodiments, if the RB sets in an RB set configuration do not overlap with BWPs, the processing circuit is further configured to omit the frequency domain configuration of hard / soft / inapplicable (H / S / NA) attributes from the DU resource configuration. According to some embodiments, the DU resource configuration includes an IAB-DU cell-and-carrier configuration to a first IAB. According to some embodiments, the maximum number of consecutive and non-overlapping RB sets configurable per cell in an IAB-DU cell-and-carrier configuration is 8. According to some embodiments, the RB set configuration includes at least one of an indication of the RB set size, the number of RB sets, an indication of a mapping method used by the first IAB node to determine the mapping of the RB sets, and an indication of an indexing method used to index the RB sets. According to some embodiments, the radio interface is further configured to transmit the DU resource configuration (configuration) to the first IAB node via an F1 application protocol (AP).

[0037] In yet another embodiment, a method in a parent integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, wherein the parent IAB node communicates with an IAB donor node and a first IAB node, where the parent IAB node is downstream of the IAB donor node and upstream of the first IAB node. The method includes activating a mobile termination (MT) unit bandwidth portion for the first IAB node, receiving a distributed unit (DU) resource configuration for each cell of the first IAB node from the IAB donor node, receiving a resource block (RB) set configuration for each cell of the first IAB node from one of the IAB donor node and the first IAB node, and transmitting an indication of DU resource availability to the first IAB node, wherein the DU resource availability is at least partially based on the DU resource configuration and RB set configuration for each cell of the first IAB node.

[0038] In this manner Okeru According to some embodiments, the DU resource configuration for each cell includes at least one hard / soft / unavailable (H / S / NA) attribute of the DU resource configuration. According to some embodiments, the RB set configuration for a cell includes the IAB-DU carrier configuration for the cell. According to some embodiments, the maximum number of consecutive and non-overlapping RB sets configurable per cell in an IAB-DU cell-and-carrier configuration is eight. According to some embodiments, indication of DU resource availability is transmitted in downlink control information within DCI format 2_5. According to some embodiments, the method includes considering that if the RB set corresponding to the IAB-DU H / S / NA resource configuration does not cover the entire carrier bandwidth, the remaining RBs that are not part of the RB set configuration should be included in the final RB set.

[0039] In another embodiment, a parent integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node is provided that communicates with an IAB donor node and a first IAB node, the parent IAB node being downstream of the IAB donor node and upstream of the first IAB node. The parent IAB node includes processing circuitry configured to activate a mobile termination (MT) unit bandwidth portion for the first IAB node. The parent IAB node also includes a radio interface for communicating with the processing circuitry and is configured to receive distributed unit (DU) resource configurations for each cell of the first IAB node from the IAB donor node, receive resource block (RB) set configurations for each cell of the first IAB node from one of the IAB donor node and the first IAB node, and transmit an indication of DU resource availability to the first IAB node, where the availability of DU resources is at least partially based on the DU resource configuration and RB set configuration for each cell of the first IAB node.

[0040] In this manner OkeruAccording to some embodiments, the DU resource configuration for each cell includes at least one hard / soft / unavailable (H / S / NA) attribute of the DU resource configuration. According to some embodiments, the RB set configuration for a cell includes the IAB-DU carrier configuration for the cell. According to some embodiments, the maximum number of consecutive and non-overlapping RB sets configurable per cell in an IAB-DU cell-and-carrier configuration is eight. According to some embodiments, indication of DU resource availability is transmitted in downlink control information within DCI format 2_5. According to some embodiments, if the RB set corresponding to an IAB-DU H / S / NA resource configuration does not cover the entire carrier bandwidth, the remaining RBs that are not part of the RB set configuration are considered to be included in the last RB set. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0041] A more complete understanding of this embodiment, as well as its associated advantages and features, will be more readily apparent by referring to the following detailed description, when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0042] [Figure 1] This shows an IAB deployment that supports multiple hops.

[0043] [Figure 2] This indicates the parent node upstream and the child IAB node downstream of the IAB node, along with the parent / child backhaul link.

[0044] [Figure 3] This shows a reference diagram of a 2-hop chain of IAB nodes under an IAB donor.

[0045] [Figure 4] This shows an exemplary DU configuration.

[0046] [Figure 5]This is a schematic diagram of an exemplary network architecture illustrating a communication system based on the principles disclosed herein.

[0047] [Figure 6] This is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a network node that operates as an IAB node upstream of a wireless device via a wireless connection, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0048] [Figure 7] This is a diagram of the network node configuration shown in Figure 6, which communicates with the upstream IAB donor node.

[0049] [Figure 8] This is an illustrative flowchart of the process at a network node for configuring resource block (RB) sets in an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) network for frequency domain resources.

[0050] [Figure 9] This is an illustrative flowchart of the process at a network node for configuring resource block (RB) sets in an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) network for frequency domain resources.

[0051] [Figure 10] This is an illustrative flowchart of the process at a network node for configuring resource block (RB) sets in an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) network for frequency domain resources.

[0052] [Figure 11] This is an exemplary processing flowchart at a first IAB node for RB set configuration in an IAB network, according to the principles disclosed herein.

[0053] [Figure 12]This is an exemplary processing flowchart at an IAB donor node for RB set configuration in an IAB network, according to the principles disclosed herein.

[0054] [Figure 13] This is an exemplary processing flowchart in a parent IAB node for RB set configuration in an IAB network, according to the principles disclosed herein.

[0055] [Figure 14] This is a diagram of the IAB network.

[0056] [Figure 15] This is a flowchart of the first exemplary process at an IAB node.

[0057] [Figure 16] This is a flowchart of a second exemplary process in the IAB node.

[0058] [Figure 17] This is a flowchart of the second exemplary process in the IAB node.

[0059] [Figure 18] This figure shows a first example of mapping BWP to RB according to the principles disclosed herein.

[0060] [Figure 19] This figure shows a second example of mapping BWP to RB according to the principles disclosed herein.

[0061] [Figure 20] This figure shows a third example of mapping BWP to RB according to the principles disclosed herein.

[0062] [Figure 21]This figure shows a fourth example of mapping BWP to RB according to the principles disclosed herein.

[0063] [Figure 22] This figure shows a fifth example of mapping BWP to RB according to the principles disclosed herein.

[0064] [Figure 23] This figure shows a sixth example of mapping BWP to RB according to the principles disclosed herein.

[0065] [Figure 24] This figure shows a seventh example of mapping BWP to RB according to the principles disclosed herein. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0066] Before describing exemplary embodiments in detail, it should be noted that the embodiments primarily concern combinations of device components and processing steps related to the configuration of resource block (RB) sets in an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) network for frequency domain resources. Accordingly, components are represented, where appropriate, by conventional symbols in the drawings, and only specific details relevant to understanding the embodiments are shown so as not to obscure this disclosure with details that would be readily apparent to those skilled in the art who have the advantages of the description herein.

[0067] Where used herein, relational terms such as “first” and “second,” “upper” and “lower” may be used solely to distinguish one entity or element from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any physical or logical relationship or order between such entities or elements. The terms used herein are intended solely to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the concepts described herein. Where used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural form unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Where used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and / or “including,” identify the presence of a described feature, integer, step, action, element, and / or component, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, actions, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0068] According to the embodiments described herein, concomitant terms such as “communicating with ~” may be used to indicate telecommunications or data communications, which can be achieved, for example, by physical contact, induction, electromagnetic radiation, radio signaling, infrared signaling, or optical signals. Those skilled in the art will understand that multiple components can interact with each other and that modifications and variations are possible to achieve telecommunications and data communications.

[0069] According to some embodiments described herein, terms such as “coupled” and “connected” may be used herein to indicate a connection, though not necessarily directly, and may include wired and / or wireless connections.

[0070] The terms used herein are intended solely to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the concepts described herein. Where used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural form unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Where used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and / or “including” identify the presence of a described feature, integer, step, operation, element, and / or component, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0071] As used herein, the term “network node” refers to any type of network node included in a wireless network, and may optionally include base stations (BS), radio base stations, transceiver base stations (BTS), base station controllers (BSC), radio network controllers (RNC), g-node B (gNB), advanced node B (eNB or e-node B), node B, multi-standard (MSR) radio nodes such as MSR BS, multi-cell / multicast coordinating entities (MCE), relay nodes, donor nodes controlling relays, radio access points (AP), transmit points, transmit nodes, remote radio units (RRU), remote radio heads (RRH), core network nodes (e.g., mobile management entities (MME), self-organizing network (SON) nodes, coordinating nodes, positioning nodes, MDT nodes, etc.), external nodes (e.g., third-party nodes, nodes outside the current network), nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS), spectrum access system (SAS) nodes, element management systems (EMS), etc. Network nodes may also include test equipment. As used herein, the term “wireless node” may also be used to refer to a wireless device (WD) or a wireless network node. The term “network node” includes Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) donor nodes, IAB parent nodes, and IAB child nodes.

[0072] According to some embodiments, the non-limiting terms "wireless device (WD)" or "user equipment (UE)" are used interchangeably. A WD as herein may be any type of wireless device capable of communicating with a network node or another WD via radio signals, such as a wireless device (WD). A WD may also be a wireless communication device, a target device, a device-to-device (D2D) WD, a machine-type WD capable of machine-to-machine communication (M2M), a low-cost and / or low-complexity WD, a sensor equipped with a WD, a tablet, mobile termination, a smartphone, an embedded laptop (LEE), a laptop-mounted device (LME), a USB dongle, a customer premises equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, or a narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) device.

[0073] Furthermore, according to some embodiments, the general term “wireless network node” is used. It can be any type of wireless network node that may comprise any of the following: base station, wireless base station, transceiver base station, base station control unit, network controller (RNC), advanced node B (eNB), node B, gNB, multicell / multicast cooperative entity (MCE), relay node, access point, wireless access point, remote radio unit (RRU), or remote radio head (RRH).

[0074] For example, terms from one particular wireless system, such as 3GPP® LTE and / or New Radio (NR), may be used in this disclosure, but it should be noted that this should not be considered to limit the scope of this disclosure to the aforementioned systems only. Broadband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA®), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), Ultra Mobile Broadband (U M B), and For mobile communications Global System (G S Other wireless systems, including but not limited to M), can also benefit from utilizing ideas that fall within the scope of the present invention.

[0075] Furthermore, it should be noted that the functions described herein as being performed by wireless devices or network nodes may be distributed across multiple wireless devices and / or network nodes. In other words, the functions of network nodes and wireless devices described herein are not limited to the performance of a single physical device, but are intended to be distributed across several physical devices. Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein (including technical and scientific terms) have the same meaning as generally understood by those skilled in the art to which this disclosure belongs. Terms used herein should be construed to have meanings consistent with their meanings in the context of this specification and related art, and it will be further understood that they should not be construed in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly defined herein.

[0076] Some embodiments refer again to drawings where similar elements are referenced by similar reference numerals, relating to resource block (RB) set configurations in an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) network for frequency domain resources. Figure 5 shows a schematic diagram of a communication system 10, in embodiments such as a 3GPP® type cellular network capable of supporting standards such as LTE and / or NR (5G), comprising an access network 12 such as a radio access network and a core network 14. The access network 12 comprises several network nodes 16a, 16b, 16c (collectively referred to as network nodes 16), such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs, or other types of wireless access points, each defining a corresponding coverage area 18a, 18b, 18c (collectively referred to as coverage area 18). One or more of the network nodes 16a, 16b, 16c are connectable to the core network 14 via a wired or wireless connection 20. A first wireless device (WD) 22a located in coverage area 18a is configured to wirelessly connect to or be paged by a corresponding network node 16a. A second WD 22b in coverage area 18b is wirelessly connectable to a corresponding network node 16b. Although multiple WDs 22a, 22b (collectively referred to as wireless device 22) are shown here, the present invention is equally applicable when the sole WD is located within a coverage area or when the sole WD is connected to a corresponding network node 16. For convenience, only two WDs 22 and three network nodes 16 are shown, but it should be noted that a communication system may include more WDs 22 and network nodes 16.

[0077] According to some embodiments, network 10 may include an IAB network in which, for example, network node 16a is a parent IAB node or IAB donor node, network node 16b is an IAB node that may be a parent IAB node, and network node 16c or WD22 is a child IAB node.

[0078] Furthermore, it is intended that the WD22 can communicate simultaneously and / or be configured to communicate separately with two or more network nodes 16 and two or more types of network nodes 16. For example, the WD22 may have dual connectivity with a network node 16 that supports LTE and the same or a different network node 16 that supports NR. As an example, the WD22 may communicate with an eNB for LTE / E-UTRAN and a gNB for NR / NG-RAN.

[0079] Network node 16 (eNB or gNB) is configured to include an RB set unit 24 configured to configure and / or transmit RB set configurations. RB set configurations may be based on a cell-and-carrier configuration. When network node 16 is configured as a first IAB node downstream of one of the IAB donor CUs and parent IAB nodes, the RB set unit 24 may be configured to map RB sets for the distributed units (DUs) of network node 16 based on the RB set configuration, at least partially based on the H / S / NA resource configuration. When network node 16 is configured as an IAB donor node, the RB set unit 24 may be configured to determine the DU resource configuration for the IAB node, at least partially based on the RB set configuration. When network node 16 is configured as a parent IAB node, the RB set unit 24 may be configured to receive cell-by-cell RB set configurations for other IAB nodes from the IAB donor node and / or another IAB node.

[0080] Hereinafter, an exemplary embodiment of the WD22 and network node 16 described in the previous paragraph will be explained with reference to Figure 6.

[0081] The communication system 10 includes a network node 16b provided in the communication system 10 and having hardware 28 capable of communicating with WD22. The hardware 28 may include a radio interface 30 for establishing and maintaining at least one wireless connection 32 with WD22 located in a coverage area 18 provided by the network node 16b. The radio interface 30 may be formed as, for example, one or more RF transmitters, one or more RF receivers, and / or one or more RF transceivers, or may include them. The radio interface 30 includes an antenna array 34 for radiating and receiving signals that carry electromagnetic waves.

[0082] According to the illustrated embodiment, the hardware 28 of the network node 16b further includes a processing circuit 36. The processing circuit 36 ​​may include a processor 38 and memory 40. In particular, in addition to or instead of a processor such as a central processing unit and memory, the processing circuit 36 ​​may include an integrated circuit for processing and / or control, such as one or more processors and / or processor cores and / or FPGAs (field-programmable gate arrays) and / or ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits) adapted to execute instructions. The processor 38 may be configured to access (e.g., write and / or read) memory 40, which may include any kind of volatile and / or non-volatile memory, such as cache memory and / or buffer memory and / or RAM (random access memory) and / or ROM (read-only memory) and / or optical memory and / or EPROM (erasable programmable read-only memory).

[0083] Accordingly, the network node 16b further has software 42 stored internally in memory 40, for example, or in external memory (e.g., a database, storage array, network storage device, etc.) accessible by the network node 16b via an external connection. The software 42 may be executable by a processing circuit 36. The processing circuit 36 ​​may be configured to control any of the methods and / or processes described herein, and / or to cause the network node 16, for example, to execute such methods and / or processes. The processor 38 corresponds to one or more processors 38 for performing the functions of the network node 16b described herein. Memory 40 is configured to store data, program software code, and / or other information described herein. According to some embodiments, the software 42 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 38 and / or the processing circuit 36, cause the processor 38 and / or the processing circuit 36 ​​to execute the processes described herein with respect to the network node 16b. For example, the processing circuit 36 ​​of network node 16 may include an RB set unit 24 configured to configure and / or transmit RB set configurations. The RB set unit 24 may be configured to map RB sets of distributed units (DUs) based at least partially on the H / S / NA resource configuration of network node 16b and the IAB-DU cell-and-carrier configuration of network node 16b. The RB set unit 24 may be configured to receive cell-by-cell RB set configurations of other IAB nodes from an IAB donor node and / or another IAB node. Network node 16b also comprises an MT unit 26 and a DU 27, and the communication system 10 further comprises the WD 22 described above. In some cases, the WD 22 may be considered a downstream child IAB node from its parent IAB node, i.e., network node 16b.WD22 may have hardware 44 which may include a radio interface 46 configured to establish and maintain a wireless connection 32 having a network node 16b serving the coverage area 18 in which WD22 is currently located. The radio interface 46 may be formed as, for example, one or more RF transmitters, one or more RF receivers, and / or one or more RF transceivers, or may include them. The radio interface 46 may include an array of antennas 48 for radiating and receiving signals that carry electromagnetic waves.

[0084] The WD22 hardware 44 further includes a processing circuit 50. The processing circuit 50 may include a processor 52 and memory 54. In particular, in addition to or instead of a processor such as a central processing unit and memory, the processing circuit 50 may include integrated circuits for processing and / or control, such as one or more processors and / or processor cores and / or FPGAs (field-programmable gate arrays) and / or ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits) adapted to execute instructions. The processor 52 may be configured to access (e.g., write and / or read) memory 54 which may include any kind of volatile and / or non-volatile memory, such as cache memory and / or buffer memory and / or RAM (random access memory) and / or ROM (read-only memory) and / or optical memory and / or EPROM (erasable programmable read-only memory).

[0085] Therefore, the WD22 may further include software 56, which is stored, for example, in the WD22's memory 54 or in external memory accessible by the WD22 (e.g., a database, storage array, network storage device, etc.). The software 56 may be executable by the processing circuit 50. The software 56 may include a client application 58. The client application 58 may be operable to provide services to human or non-human users through the WD22.

[0086] The processing circuit 50 may be configured to control any of the methods and / or processes described herein, and / or to cause such methods and / or processes to be executed by, for example, the WD22. The processor 52 corresponds to one or more processors 52 for performing the functions of the WD22 described herein. The WD22 includes a memory 54 configured to store data, program software code, and / or other information described herein. According to some embodiments, the software 56 and / or client application 58, when executed by the processor 52 and / or the processing circuit 50, may include instructions that cause the processor 52 and / or the processing circuit 50 to execute the processes described herein with respect to the WD22.

[0087] According to some embodiments, the internal mechanisms of network node 16b and WD22 may be as shown in Figure 6, and independently, the surrounding network topology may be as shown in Figure 5.

[0088] The wireless connection 32 between WD22 and network node 16 follows the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this specification. More precisely, some teachings of these embodiments may improve data rate, latency, and / or power consumption, thereby providing benefits such as reduced user latency, relaxed file size limitations, better responsiveness, and extended battery life. According to some embodiments, measurement procedures may be provided for the purpose of monitoring the data rate, latency (delay time), and other factors improved by one or more embodiments.

[0089] Figure 7 shows the downstream network node 16b from the IAB donor node 16a. The elements of network node 16b and similarly numbered elements of network node 16a perform similar functions and may operate as described above. However, in the IAB donor node 16a, the RB set unit 24 may be configured to determine the DU resource configuration for the IAB node 16b based at least partially on the RB set configuration. The IAB donor node 16b also includes a CU 25.

[0090] Figures 5 and 6 show various “units,” such as the RB set unit 24, as being located within their respective processors, but these units are intended to be implemented such that parts of the unit are stored in corresponding memory within the processing circuit. In other words, the units can be implemented in hardware within the processing circuit, or in a combination of hardware and software.

[0091] Figure 8 shows resource blocks in an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) network for frequency domain resources. (RB)This is a flowchart of exemplary processing at network node 16 for set configuration. One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of network node 16, for example, by one or more of the processing circuit 36 ​​(including RB set unit 24), processor 38, and / or radio interface 30. Through the processing circuit 36 ​​and / or processor 38 and / or radio interface 30, etc., network node 16 is configured to receive at least one bandwidth part (BWP) configuration from an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) donor central unit (CU) (block S10), and to receive a resource block (RB) set configuration for at least one BWP (block S12), where the RB set configuration indicates the number of RB sets and the number of RBs per RB set. The process also includes determining an RB set index based on the RB set configuration (block S14) and scheduling RBs according to the determined RB set configuration (block S16).

[0092] In this manner Okeru According to some embodiments, the network node 16, processing circuit 36, and / or wireless interface 30 are further configured to receive IAB distributed unit (DU) cell / carrier configurations and report the resource multiplexing capability of the donor CU. According to some embodiments, the RB set mapping is determined at least partially on the union of BWPs.

[0093] figure 9This is a flowchart of exemplary processing in a network node 16 according to some embodiments disclosed herein. One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of the network node 16, for example, by one or more of the processing circuitry 36 (including the RB set unit 24), the processor 38, and / or the radio interface 30. Through the processing circuitry 36 and / or the processor 38 and / or the radio interface 30, etc., the network node 16 is configured to transmit at least one Bandwidth Part (BWP) configuration to the MT unit 26 of the Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) (block S18). The process also includes transmitting a Resource Block (RB) set configuration, transmitting an RB set configuration indicating the number of RB sets and the number of RBs per RB set (block S20), determining the DU resource configuration of the IAB based at least in part on the RB set configuration (block S22), and transmitting the DU resource configuration of the IAB to the DU of the IAB (block S24).

[0094] In this manner Okeru According to some embodiments, when the network node 16 is configured as a donor node, the processing circuit 36 ​​and / or radio interface 30 are further configured to transmit the IAB's DU cell / carrier configuration to the IAB's DU parent node. According to some embodiments, the RB set configuration shows a method for determining the scope of the RB set configuration.

[0095] Figure 10 is a flowchart of exemplary processing in a network node 16 according to some embodiments disclosed herein. One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of the network node 16, for example, by one or more of the processing circuit 36 ​​(including the RB set unit 24), the processor 38, and / or the wireless interface 30. Through Network node 16 is configured to activate the Child Node Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) Mobile Termination (MT) Bandwidth Part (BWP) (block S26), receive the resource configuration of the child node's serving cell (block S28), receive the resource block (RB) set configuration of the child node's serving cell (block S30), and send an indication of the RB set configuration to the child node (block S32).

[0096] In this manner Okeru According to some embodiments, the resource configuration includes at least one of a time-sharing duplex (TDD) pattern per RB set and a hard / soft / unavailable (H / S / N) configuration. According to some embodiments, the RB set configuration includes an indication of the size and / or number of RB sets.

[0097] Figure 11 is an exemplary flowchart of processing in a network node 16 configured as a first IAB node having an MT unit and a DU, according to some embodiments disclosed herein. One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of the network node 16, for example, by one or more of the processing circuit 36 ​​(including the RB set unit 24, MT unit 26 and DU 27), the processor 38, and / or the wireless interface 30. Through Network node 16 is configured to receive an IAB-DU cell and carrier configuration from a second network node, which is one of the IAB donor CUs and parent IAB nodes, and is upstream of the first IAB node (block S34). The method also includes reporting resource multiplexing capability to the second network node (block S36). The method also includes receiving a resource block (RB) set configuration from the second IAB network node, which has an IAB-DU hard / soft / unavailable (H / S / NA) resource configuration, and which is at least partially based on resource multiplexing capability (block S38). The method also includes mapping the resource block (RB) set of the DU to the IAB-DU H / S / NA resource configuration and the IAB-DU cell and carrier configuration at least partially (block S40).

[0098] In this manner Okeru According to some embodiments, the method includes receiving a BWP configuration from a second network node and mapping RB sets to the BWP based in part on the BWP configuration. According to some embodiments, the mapping includes assigning an integer N of physical resource blocks (PRBs) to each RB set of a first set of multiple RB sets, and if the IAB-DU frequency resource does not include all available PRBs, then an integer N of PRBs oneThis includes allocating parts to the remaining RB sets. According to some embodiments, the mapping depends at least in part on whether an RB set of size N can encompass all available RBs, where N is an integer greater than 1. According to some embodiments, if the RB sets of an IAB-DU H / S / NA resource configuration do not cover the entire carrier bandwidth, the remaining RBs that are not part of the RB set configuration are considered to be included in the last RB set. According to some embodiments, the RB set configuration includes an index pointing to the lowest RB in the first IAB-DU cell and carrier configuration. According to some embodiments, the starting RB index of the first RB set for the IAB-DU H / S / NA resource configuration is the lowest RB index of the IAB-DU cell. According to some embodiments, the IAB-DU cell and carrier configuration is at least in part on a carrier received from an IAB donor CU and configured by an Operation and Management Function (OAM). According to some embodiments, the resource multiplexing capability for the MT unit 26 and DU of the first IAB node includes at least one of an indication of time-division multiplexing (TDM) requirements, an indication of frequency-division multiplexing (FDM) requirements, and an indication of the transmit / receive status of the DU and MT unit 26. According to some embodiments, the method also includes receiving an RB set configuration from a second network node, the RB set configuration including at least one of an indication of the RB set size, an indication of a mapping method used to determine the mapping of the RB sets, the number of RB sets, and an indication of an indexing method used to index the RB sets. According to some embodiments, the IAB-DU H / S / NA resource configuration includes at least one of a time-domain configuration, a frequency-domain configuration, and an indication of which slots should be time-domain multiplexed (TDM) and which slots should be frequency-domain multiplexed (FDM). According to some embodiments, the method also includes receiving an availability indication for a subset of RB sets configured as soft.According to some embodiments, the DU of the first IAB node schedules resources based at least in part on the IAB-DU H / S / NA resource configuration. According to some embodiments, the maximum number of contiguous and non-overlapping RB sets configurable per cell in the IAB-DU cell-and-carrier configuration is 8.

[0099] Figure 12 is a flowchart of exemplary processing in a network node 16 configured as an IAB donor node communicating with a first IAB node, according to some embodiments disclosed herein. One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of the network node 16, for example, by one or more of the processing circuitry 36 (including RB set unit 24, MT unit 26, and DU 27), processor 38, and / or wireless interface 30. Processing circuitry 36 and / or processor 38 and / or wireless interface 30 Through such means, Network node 16 is configured to receive resource multiplexing capability from the first IAB node (block S42). The process includes determining a resource block (RB) set configuration, at least in part, based on the resource multiplexing capability (block S44). The method also includes determining a DU resource configuration for the first IAB node, at least in part, based on the RB set configuration (block S46). Furthermore, the DU resource configuration is sent to the first IAB node (block S48).

[0100] In this manner OkeruAccording to some embodiments, the method further includes omitting the frequency domain configuration of hard / soft / inapplicable (H / S / NA) attributes from the DU resource configuration if the RB sets in the RB set configuration do not overlap with BWPs. According to some embodiments, the DU resource configuration includes an IAB-DU cell-and-carrier configuration to a first IAB. According to some embodiments, the maximum number of consecutive and non-overlapping RB sets configurable per cell in the IAB-DU cell-and-carrier configuration is 8. According to some embodiments, the RB set configuration includes at least one of an indication of the RB set size, the number of RB sets, an indication of a mapping method used by the first IAB node to determine the mapping of the RB sets, and an indication of an indexing method used to index the RB sets. According to some embodiments, transmitting the DU resource configuration to a first IAB node includes transmitting the DU resource configuration via the F1 Application Protocol (AP).

[0101] Figure 13 is a flowchart of exemplary processing in a network node 16 configured as a parent IAB node communicating with an IAB donor node, according to some embodiments disclosed herein. One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of the network node 16, for example, by one or more of the processing circuitry 36 (including RB set unit 24, MT unit 26, and DU 27), processor 38, and / or wireless interface 30. Processing circuitry 36 and / or processor 38 and / or wireless interface 30 Through such means,Network node 16 is configured to activate the mobile termination (MT) unit bandwidth portion for the first IAB node (block S50). The process includes receiving a resource block (RB) set configuration from an IAB donor node, the RB set configuration including a per-cell distributed unit (DU) resource configuration for the first IAB node (block S52). The method also includes receiving a per-cell resource block (RB) set configuration for the first IAB node from one of the IAB donor nodes and the first IAB node (block S54). The process further includes sending an indication of DU resource availability to the first IAB node, the DU resource availability being at least partially based on the per-cell DU resource configuration and RB set configuration for the first IAB node (block S56).

[0102] In this manner Okeru According to some embodiments, the DU resource configuration for each cell includes at least one hard / soft / unavailable (H / S / NA) attribute of the DU resource configuration. According to some embodiments, the RB set configuration for a cell includes the IAB-DU carrier configuration for the cell. According to some embodiments, the maximum number of consecutive and non-overlapping RB sets configurable per cell in an IAB-DU cell-and-carrier configuration is 8. According to some embodiments, indication of DU resource availability is transmitted in downlink control information within DCI format 2_5. According to some embodiments, the method includes considering the remaining RBs that are not part of the RB set configuration that should be included in the last RB set if the number of RB sets corresponding to an IAB-DU H / S / NA resource configuration exceeds N times the maximum number of RB sets M, where N and M are integers greater than zero.

[0103] While the general process flow of the configuration of this disclosure has been described and examples of hardware and software configurations for implementing the processes and functions of this disclosure have been provided, the following sections provide configuration details and examples for resource block (RB) set configurations in integrated access and backhaul (IAB) networks for frequency domain resources.

[0104] An exemplary IAB network is shown in Figure 14, where IAB node 16 may be connected downstream from parent IAB node 16b and upstream from devices and / or child IAB nodes 16c, 22. Parent IAB node 16b may then also connect devices or other IAB nodes 16, 22.

[0105] IAB node configurations related to BWP or DU carrier signaling One aspect of several embodiments relates to mapping the RB set index to at least one BWP, or alternatively, mapping the RB set index to a DU carrier. The mapping can be signaled to other network nodes, for example, the parent IAB node 16b. Both alternatives are included in Figure 15 by applying either step (100) or step (120), respectively.

[0106] Some embodiments include an IAB node for determining a resource multiplexing configuration between the DU27 portion and the MT unit 26 portion of the IAB node 16, based on RB set configuration information from the IAB donor CU16a.

[0107] In optional step (100), IAB node 16 receives a BWP configuration from another network node, for example, an IAB donor CU 16(a) or a parent IAB node (16b). This can typically be received, for example, in the serving cell configuration information of the parent IAB node, via radio resource control (RRC) signaling from IAB donor CU 25 as part of the initial access procedure. In NR, the BWP configuration may include up to four different BWPs, and therefore IAB node 16 may receive up to four BWPs as part of the BWP configuration.

[0108] In step (110), the IAB node receives cell and / or carrier configuration from IAB donor CU25 to IAB-DU27 based on the carrier configured by Operations and Management (OAM). The IAB node can read such information from a file. Cell and carrier configuration information may be included in the IAB-DU serving cell information in SIB1. Approved IAB-DU cells / carriers are activated by the network (e.g., by IAB donor CU25), and signaling may be handled by RRC and F1 messages. The relevant part of the information includes the carrier bandwidth used for the IAB-DU cell. Also, the hardware of the IAB node ye Depending on the configuration, it may include a large number of IAB-DU cells and / or carriers.

[0109] In optional step (120), the IAB node provides the parent IAB node 16b with activated IAB-DU cell and / or carrier information. Such information may be provided using established signaling, such as F1 or a media access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0110] Referring further to Figure 15, in step (130), the IAB node 16 reports to the donor IAB node the resource redundancy capability for the IAB-DU 27 and IAB-MT unit 26, which may be one or more of the following: ● When TDM is required ● TDM is not required. ● What FDM is required for ● MT TX and DU TX ● MT TX and DU RX ● MT RX and DU TX, and / or ● MT RX and DU RX.

[0111] The signaling me is included in the F1 message between IAB donor CU25 and IAB-DU27.

[0112] In step (140), IAB node 16 receives an RB set configuration from IAB donor CU25. This configuration may include one or more of the following: ● Indication of RB set size, i.e., the number of RBs included in the RB set. ● Mapping between different RB sets and their corresponding frequency ranges. method Indication of the following: According to one embodiment, the RB set is a first RB set at the lowest carrier frequency. set The values ​​are mapped starting from a certain value and increasing across the entire DU carrier. Depending on the relationship between the RB set and the carrier bandwidth, the last RB set may or may not exceed the highest carrier frequency. According to one embodiment, the RB sets are mapped continuously and incrementally with respect to at least one BWP such that the union of all BWPs includes the frequency range to which different RB sets are mapped. Several examples of such mappings are provided below. See, for example, Figures 17 and 18. ● Indication of the indexing method for RB sets

[0113] Signaling from IAB donor CU25 may be, for example, F1.

[0114] In step (150), IAB node 16 receives the DU H / S / NA configuration. This configuration may be provided for both the time domain and the frequency domain, and may also include indications indicating which slots should use time-domain multiplexing (TDM) and frequency-domain multiplexing (FDM) configurations, respectively. Alternatively, the TDM / FDM application may be implicitly determined based on specifications from, for example, 3GPP® technical standards 38.213[2] or 38.473[3]. The H / S / NA configuration may include indications by DU 27 regarding which RB sets should be considered hard, soft, and unavailable, respectively.

[0115] In step (160), the IAB node 16 derives a mapping between various RB sets and their respective frequency ranges based on the RB set configuration information received from step (130).

[0116] In optional step (170), IAB node 16 receives dynamic availability indications for a subset of RB sets configured as soft. If both RB sets are indicated as available, or if no RB set is indicated as available, the use of soft resources by DU27 may be determined by specification.

[0117] In optional step (180), DU27 schedules and uses resources according to its H / S / NA configuration and explicit and implicit availability indications. Implicit indications may include the possibility that DU27 may implicitly use soft resources for IAB nodes 16 that support spatial division multiplexing (SDM) if such use does not affect the operation of IAB-MT.

[0118] Nodes related to donor RB set configuration and H / S / NA configuration Figure 16 is an exemplary processing flowchart related to an embodiment of a donor node. In step (200), the IAB donor CU 25 provides the IAB-MT unit 26 with the configuration of initial BWPs for downlink (DL) and uplink (UL), and additional UL / DL BWPs in the RRC message.

[0119] In step (210), IAB donor CU25 activates the IAB-DU cell configured by OAM. Signaling between IAB donor CU25 and IAB-DU27 may be, for example, F1 and RRC.

[0120] In step (220), the IAB donor CU25 receives the multiplexing capability of one or more of the following IAB nodes: ● When TDM is required ● TDM is not required. ● When FDM is required ● MT TX and DU TX ● MT TX and DU RX ● MT RX and DU TX, and / or ● MT RX and DU RX.

[0121] Signaling can be handled by F1 messages between IAB donor CU25 and IAB-DU27.

[0122] In step (230), IAB donor CU25 provides IAB-DU27 with an RB set configuration including the following: ● Indication of RB set size, i.e., the number of RBs included in the RB set. ● (Optional) Indication of a mapping method between each of the different RB sets and a frequency range. According to one embodiment, the RB sets are mapped continuously and incrementally across the entire DU carrier, starting with a first RB set at the lowest carrier frequency. Depending on the relationship between the RB sets and the carrier bandwidth, the last RB set may or may not exceed the highest carrier frequency. According to one embodiment, the RB sets are mapped continuously and incrementally with respect to at least one BWP such that the union of all BWPs includes the frequency range to which the different RB sets are mapped. Several examples of such mappings can be provided below. See the detailed description of Figures 15 and 16. ● (Optional) Indication regarding the indexing method for RB sets. See the explanations in Figures 15-21.

[0123] Signaling from IAB donor CU25 to IAB-DU27 may, for example, be via F1 messages.

[0124] In optional step (240), the IAB donor CU25 may provide the parent IAB node 16b with the RB set configuration from step (220), which includes carrier information for the IAB-DU cell.

[0125] In step (250), IAB donor CU25 determines the DU resource configuration of the IAB node (including TDD pattern and H / S / NA attributes) based on the RB set configuration.

[0126] In step (260), IAB donor CU25 provides the IAB node with a DU resource configuration (including TDD patterns and H / S / NA attributes) based on the RB set configuration.

[0127] According to some embodiments, for any IAB-MT BWP-non-overlapping RB set, the IAB donor CU25 does not need to provide a frequency-domain H / S / NA configuration, and therefore, signaling overhead can be reduced.

[0128] Parent node embodiments related to RB set configuration and explicit availability indication of soft resources Figure 17 shows a flowchart related to the parent node embodiment.

[0129] In step (300), the parent IAB node 16b activates the BWP for the IAB-MT unit 26. The signaling may be either downlink control information (DCI) or a media access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0130] In optional step (310), the parent IAB node 16b receives the multiplexing capability of the IAB node, which may include one or more of the following: ● When TDM is required ● TDM is not required. ● When FDM is required ● MT TX and DU TX ● MT TX and DU RX ● MT RX and DU TX, and / or ● MT RX and DU RX.

[0131] Signaling can be handled by F1 messages between the IAB donor CU25 and the parent IAB-DU27.

[0132] In step (320), the parent IAB node 16b receives the resource configuration of the IAB-DU cell, including the TDD pattern and H / S / NA attributes. Signaling may be handled by F1 messages between the IAB donor CU25 and the parent IAB-DU27.

[0133] In step (330), the parent IAB node 16b receives the RB set configuration of the IAB-DU cell and the carrier information of the IAB-DU cell. Signaling may be handled by F1 messages between the IAB donor CU25 and the parent IAB-DU27. Alternatively, signaling may be handled by MAC CE between the parent IAB node 16b and the IAB node, for example.

[0134] In step (340), the parent IAB node 16b may use DCI format 2_5 to indicate the explicit availability of the IAB-DU resource.

[0135] According to some embodiments, the parent IAB node 16b can provide DCI format 2_5 (availability indicator for dynamically showing the availability of IAB-DU soft frequency resources) based on the RB set index. According to some embodiments, based on the RB set index, the IAB donor CU 25 can configure frequency domain resource-related RRC parameters, such as AvailabilityCombinationsPerCell and AvailabilityIndicator.

[0136] Referring again to Figure 15, in step 140, for a given IAB-DU cell / carrier, IAB-DU 27 may be configured with several resource block sets, and the collated IAB-MT unit 26 may constitute several bandwidth parts (BWPs). See, for example, Figure 18. At some point, only one IAB-MT BWP is active. Since an IAB node cannot use IAB-MT resources that are not included in the configured BWP, there is no need to coordinate the IAB-MT unit 26 and IAB-DU 27 for resources outside the configured BWP by configuring H / S / NA in IAB-DU 27. Some embodiments determine the range of RB sets (and therefore the number of RB sets) in an IAB-DU cell by considering the union of the configured IAB-MT BWPs and the value N (i.e., the number of PRBs in the RB set). In this way, IAB-DU resources that are not mapped to a certain RB set do not receive an H / S / NA configuration. Since the configured BWP is known to the parent node, the parent IAB node 16b will know about the configured RB set in IAB-DU27 without any additional information about the carriers of the IAB-DU cell. As shown in Figure 18, this may result in at least one incomplete RB set having fewer than N RBs. See RB set 7 in Figure 18.

[0137] Figure 19 shows an example of one alternative method for configuring RB sets, where the number of RB sets within an IAB-DU cell can be determined by the size of the IAB-DU cell / carrier (i.e., the entire DU cell of the IAB) and the value N. This method can also result in incomplete RB sets (or multiple incomplete RB sets) having fewer than N RBs. In this method, the IAB-DU resource is always mapped to a specific RB set. For the parent IAB node 16b to know about the RB sets configured in IAB-DU 27, information about the IAB-DU carrier should be provided to the parent IAB node 16b.

[0138] RB set frequency domain mapping (i.e., RB set indexing) modes (step 140): Depending on how incomplete RB sets are specified, there are various methods for mapping frequency domain resources to multiple RB sets in IAB-DU27, which is called RB set indexing. The following are some examples assuming that there are a total of M RB sets configured in an IAB-DU cell.

[0139] Type A indexing Figures 18 and 19 provide two examples of type A indexing. In Figure 19, the indexing of RB sets begins with the lowest RB among the IAB-DU carriers, starting with RB set 0, RB set 1, and so on. The numbering continues up to the last M-th RB set, i.e., RB set 9 in Figure 19. The first M-1 RB sets are complete RB sets, while the last RB set, i.e., the RB set with the highest index, may be an incomplete RB set, i.e., an RB set consisting of fewer than N RBs.

[0140] Type B indexing Figure 20 provides an example of Type B indexing. Starting with the lowest RB among the IAB-DU carriers, the indexing of RB sets begins as RB set 1, RB set 2, and so on. .numbering This is followed by the M-1th RB set, which is the second to last, i.e., RB set 9 in the figure. The first M-1 RB sets are complete RB sets, but the last RB set may be an incomplete RB set, i.e., it may consist of fewer than N RBs. The last (potentially incomplete) RB set always has index 0.

[0141] Type C indexing Figure 21 provides an example of Type C indexing. Starting with the lowest RB of the IAB-DU carrier, the indexing of RB sets begins with RB set 1, RB set 2, and so on. numberingThis continues up to RB set M-1, which is RB set 9 in the diagram. The last RB set always has index 0. Both the first RB set (RB set 1) and the last RB set (RB set 0) can be incomplete RB sets. All other RB sets (RB set 2 to RB set M-1) are complete RB sets.

[0142] Type D indexing Figure 22 shows the method for indexing only complete RB sets. Starting with the lowest RB among the IAB-DU carriers, the indexing of RB sets begins with RB set 0, RB set 1, and so on. The numbering continues to the last complete RB set M-1, i.e., RB set 8 in Figure 22.

[0143] According to one embodiment, an incomplete RB set may be merged with an adjacent RB set so that the combined RB set may be a larger RB set. Alternatively, comparison with a threshold may determine whether an incomplete RB set should be merged or assigned an independent index. Or, the incomplete RB set is not used by either MT unit 26 or IAB DU 27. Figure 22 provides another example of type D indexing, where an incomplete RB set may be merged with an adjacent complete set, i.e., RB set 8 in Figure 23, to become an extended RB set having more than N RBs. According to an alternative embodiment, an extended RB set (i.e., having more than N RBs) may have index 0.

[0144] According to some embodiments, fixed RB set indexing may be applied to IAB-DU cells, which may be one of type A, type B, type C, or type D mapping methods.

[0145] According to some embodiments, the indexing of the RB set can be changed. The decision of which type of indexing (Type A / Type B / Type C / Type D) should be applied to the IAB-DU cell may be made at the IAB donor CU25, and the activation signaling to notify the IAB-DU27 of the selected type may be, for example, F1 or RRC.

[0146] According to some embodiments, the proposed method can be extended to cases where an IAB-MT unit 26 serving cell (composed of multiple IAB-MT BWPs) overlaps with multiple IAB-DU cells in the frequency domain. Figure 24 shows an example where an IAB-MT serving cell (composed of multiple IAB-MT BWPs) overlaps with two IAB-DU cells in the frequency domain. The RB set configuration can still be determined by the union of configured IAB-MT BWPs that overlap with each IAB-DU frequency resource.

[0147] Some embodiments include some or all of the following: IAB node multi-BWP configuration : A method in the IAB node 16 for resource multiplexing configuration between the DU27 unit and the MT26 unit, wherein the method is: a. Receiving at least one BWP configuration from a network node (e.g., donor CU25), b. Receiving the IAB-DU cell / carrier configuration, c. Report resource redundancy capabilities to donor CU25, d. Receiving an RB set configuration for at least one received BWP, which includes an indication of the number of RBs per RB set (the value N of the number) and / or the number of RB sets. e. Based on the RB set configuration, receive the IAB-DU resource configuration including the H / S / NA configuration, f. Determine the RB set index (or RB set mapping) based on the RB set configuration, g. (Optional) Receiving dynamic availability indications for a subset of RB sets, and / or h. Including scheduling / using resources according to the determined configuration. 2. All of the above and RB set mappings are determined from the union of at least one BWP.

[0148] IAB node DU carrier signaling configuration A method in IAB node 16 for resource multiplexing configuration between the DU portion and the MT portion within IAB node 16, wherein the method is: a. Receiving the IAB-DU cell / carrier configuration, b. (Optional) Signal the IAB-DU cell / carrier configuration to parent node 16b, c. Report resource redundancy capabilities to donor CU25, d. Receiving RB set configurations, including indications of RB set size and (optionally) indications of RB set mapping / indexing methods, e. Based on the RB set configuration, receive the IAB-DU resource configuration including the H / S / NA configuration, f. Determining the RB set index (or RB set mapping) based on the RB set configuration, and / or g. Including scheduling / using resources according to the determined configuration.

[0149] IAB donor node configuration A method in a network node for providing an RB set configuration and a resource configuration to an IAB node 16 for a resource multiplexing configuration between an IAB-DU portion and an IAB-MT portion, wherein the method is: a. To provide the BWP configuration to IAB-Node 16, b. Activate the IAB-DU cell based on the OAM configuration, c. Receiving at least one multiplexing capability from IAB node 16, d. Provide an RB set configuration to IAB node 16, where the RB set configuration includes the following: i. Indication of RB set size (numerical value N) ii. (Optional) Indication of how to determine the RB set configuration range (e.g., BWP-based or carrier-based) iii. (Optional) Indication of RB set mapping / indexing method e. (Optional) Signaling the IAB-DU cell / carrier configuration to the parent node 16b of the IAB node, f. Determining the IAB-DU resource configuration, including the H / S / NA configuration, based on the RB set configuration, and / or g. Including signaling the IAB-DU resource configuration to the IAB node.

[0150] IAB Parent Node Configuration A method in IAB node 16 for indicating the explicit availability of child IAB-DU soft resources, wherein the method is: a. Child IAB-MT BWP Yes To make effective, b. (Optional) Receiving resource multiplexing capability for (child) IAB-DU27 and IAB-MT unit 26, c. Receiving the resource configuration of the (child) IAB-DU serving cell, wherein the resource configuration includes at least the following: i. TDD pattern, ii. H / S / NA configuration for each RB set, d. Receiving the RB set configuration of a child IAB-DU serving cell, wherein the RB set configuration includes at least the following: i. (Optional) DU-Cell / Carrier Configuration ii. Indication of RB set size iii. (Optional) Indication of the RB set indexing method (e.g., RB set frequency domain mapping), and / or iv. (Optional) Indication of RB set range (e.g., BWP-based or carrier-based) e. Provide DCI format 2_5 to the child IAB node for explicit availability indication of the IAB-DU RB set. thing This can be based, for example, on the following: i. Child IAB-MT BWP configuration ii. Child IAB-DU resource configuration.

[0151] Some embodiments may include one or more of the following:

[0152] Embodiment A1 A network node 16 comprising a processing circuit configured as follows, and / or including a wireless interface, and / or configured as follows: It is about receiving, A configuration of at least one bandwidth part (BWP) from an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) donor central unit (CU) 25, A resource block (RB) set configuration for at least one BWP, signal, Here, the RB set configuration indicates the number of RB sets and the number of RBs in each RB set. Based on the RB set configuration, determine the RB set index. Schedule the RB according to the determined RB set configuration.

[0153] Embodiment A2 In Embodiment A1, the network node 16, processing circuit 36, and / or wireless interface 30 are further configured as follows: to receive IAB distributed unit (DU) cell / carrier configurations and report resource multiplexing capabilities to donor CU 25.

[0154] Embodiment A3 A network node 16 according to either embodiment A1 or A2, wherein the RB set mapping is determined at least in part on the union of BWPs.

[0155] Embodiment B1 A method to be implemented on network node 16, the method includes the following: It is about receiving, A configuration of at least one bandwidth part (BWP) from an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) donor central unit (CU) 25, Resource block (RB) set configuration for at least one BWP and Receiving and Here, the RB set configuration indicates the number of RB sets and the number of RBs per RB set. Determining the RB set index based on the RB set configuration, Scheduling RBs according to the determined RB set configuration.

[0156] Embodiment B2 A method of Embodiment B1, further comprising: receiving an IAB Distributed Unit (DU) cell / carrier configuration. What to do and Report resource redundancy capabilities to donor CU25.

[0157] Embodiment B3 A method according to either embodiment B1 or B2, wherein the RB set mapping is determined at least partially based on the union of BWPs.

[0158] Embodiment C1 A network node 16 is configured as follows and / or includes a wireless interface 30 and / or includes a processing circuit 36 ​​configured as follows. It is about sending, Configuration of at least one bandwidth part (BWP) to an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) distributed unit (DU) 27, Resource block (RB) set configuration for at least one BWP and Sending, where the RB set configuration indicates the number of RB sets and the number of RBs per RB set, Determining the IAB DU resource configuration based at least partially on the RB set configuration, Send the IAB DU resource configuration to IAB DU27.

[0159] Embodiment C2 A network node 16 of Embodiment C1, wherein the network node 16, processing circuit 36, and / or wireless interface 30 are further configured to transmit the IAB DU cell / carrier configuration to the parent node 16b of the IAB DU.

[0160] Embodiment C3 A network node according to either embodiment C1 or C2, wherein the RB set configuration indicates a method for determining the scope of the RB set configuration.

[0161] Embodiment D1 A method implemented at network node 16, the method including the following: It is about sending, Configuration of at least one bandwidth part (BWP) to an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) distributed unit (DU) 27, Send a Resource Block (RB) set configuration for at least one BWP, where the RB set configuration indicates the number of RB sets and the number of RBs per RB set. Determining the IAB DU resource configuration based at least partially on the RB set configuration, Send the IAB DU resource configuration to IAB DU27.

[0162] Embodiment D2 The method according to Embodiment D1, wherein a network node, processing circuit and / or wireless interface are further configured to transmit the IAB DU cell / carrier configuration to the parent node of the IAB DU27.

[0163] Embodiment D3 A method according to either embodiment D1 or D2, wherein the RB set configuration is a method for determining the range of the RB set configuration.

[0164] Embodiment E1 A network node 16 having the following configuration and / or including a wireless interface 30 and / or including a processing circuit 36 ​​configured as follows: Activating Child Node Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) Mobile Termination (MT) 26 Bandwidth Part (BWP), Receiving the resource configuration of the serving cells of child IAB nodes 16c and 22b, Receiving the resource block (RB) set configuration for the serving cells of child IAB nodes 16c and 22. Send the RB set configuration indication to the child node.

[0165] Embodiment E2 A network node according to Embodiment E1, wherein the resource configuration includes at least one of a time-division duplex (TDD) pattern and a hard / soft / unavailable (H / S / N) configuration for each RB set.

[0166] Embodiment E3 A network node according to either embodiment E1 or E2, wherein the RB set configuration includes indication of the size of the RB set.

[0167] Embodiment F1 A method implemented at network node 16, wherein the method is Activating the Child Node Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) Mobile Termination (MT26) Bandwidth Part (BWP), Receiving the resource configuration of the serving cell of child IAB node 16c, Receiving the resource block (RB) set configuration of the serving cell of child IAB node 16c, Sending an indication of the RB set configuration to child IAB node 16c, Includes.

[0168] Embodiment F2 A method of embodiment F1, wherein the resource configuration includes at least one of a time-division duplex (TDD) pattern and a hard / soft / unavailable (H / S / N) configuration for each RB set.

[0169] Embodiment F3 A method according to either embodiment F1 or F2, wherein the RB set configuration includes an indication of the size of the RB set.

[0170] As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the concepts described herein are: method, Systems, data processing systems, Store executable computer programs.This can be embodied as a computer program product and / or a computer storage medium. Accordingly, the concepts described herein can take the form of entirely hardware embodiments, entirely software embodiments, or embodiments combining software and hardware aspects, all of which are generally referred to herein as “circuits” or “modules,” and any process, step, action, and / or function described herein may be performed and / or associated with a corresponding module which may be implemented in software and / or firmware and / or hardware. Furthermore, this disclosure can take the form of a computer program product on a tangible computer-readable storage medium having computer program code embodied in a medium executable by a computer. Any suitable tangible computer-readable medium may be used, including hard disks, CD-ROMs, electronic storage devices, optical storage devices, or magnetic storage devices.

[0171] Several embodiments are described herein with reference to flowcharts and / or block diagrams of methods, systems, and computer program products. It will be understood that each block in a flowchart and / or block diagram, as well as combinations of blocks in a flowchart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions are provided to a general-purpose computer processor (thereby creating a dedicated computer), a dedicated computer, or other programmable data processing device so that instructions executed via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device can create means for implementing the blocks or functions / operations specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram.

[0172] These computer program instructions may also be stored in computer-readable memory or storage medium that can instruct a computer or other programmable data processing device to function in a particular way, thereby generating a product that includes instruction means for implementing a specified function / operation in a block or more blocks of a flowchart and / or block diagram.

[0173] Computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device and cause the computer or other programmable data processing device to execute a series of operational steps so that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device provide steps for performing a function / operation specified in a block or block of a flowchart and / or block diagram, thereby generating a computer implementation process.

[0174] It should be understood that the functions / operations described in the blocks may occur outside the order shown in the operation diagram. For example, two blocks shown consecutively may actually be executed substantially simultaneously, or blocks may sometimes be executed in reverse order depending on the functions / operations they contain. Furthermore, some of the diagrams are for communication direction To illustrate this, arrows are included on the communication path, but it should be understood that communication may occur in the opposite direction to the drawn arrow.

[0175] Computer program code for performing the operations of the concepts described herein may be written in an object-oriented programming language such as Python, Java@, or C++. However, computer program code for performing the operations of the disclosure may also be written in a conventional procedural programming language such as the C programming language. The program code may run entirely on the user's computer, partially on the user's computer, as a standalone software package, partially on the user's computer, partially on a remote computer, or entirely on a remote computer. In the latter case, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer via a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN), or it may be connected to an external computer (for example, via the Internet using an Internet service provider).

[0176] This specification includes the above description and drawings and Related We have disclosed many different embodiments. It will be understood that describing and illustrating all combinations and subcombinations of these embodiments literally would be overly repetitive and obfuscated. Therefore, all embodiments can be combined in any way and / or combination, and this specification, including the drawings, shall be construed as constituting a complete written description of all combinations and subcombinations of the embodiments described herein, as well as the methods and processes for making and using them, and shall support the claims for any such combination or subcombination.

[0177] Those skilled in the art will understand that the embodiments described herein are not limited to those specifically shown and described herein. In addition, it should be noted that, unless otherwise stated above, all accompanying drawings are not to a fixed scale. Various modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings without departing from the following claims.

Claims

1. A method in a first integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node (16b), wherein the first IAB node (16b) has a mobile termination (MT) unit (26) and a distributed unit (DU) (27), and the method is Receiving an IAB-DU cell and carrier configuration from a second network node (S34), where the second network node is one of the IAB donor centralization unit (25) and the parent IAB node (16b), and the second network node is located upstream of the first IAB node. Reporting resource redundancy capability to the second network node (S36), Receiving a resource block (RB) set configuration from the second network node (S38), wherein the RB set configuration has an IAB-DU hard / soft / unavailable (H / S / NA) resource configuration, and the IAB-DU H / S / NA resource configuration is at least partially based on the resource multiplexing capability. The process includes mapping a set of resource blocks (RBs) of the DU (27) to the IAB-DU H / S / NA resource configuration and the IAB-DU cell-and-carrier configuration, at least partially (S40), A method in which, if the RB set of the RB set configuration does not overlap with the bandwidth part (BWP) of the MT unit (26), the frequency domain configuration of hard / soft / unavailable (H / S / NA) attributes is omitted from the DU resource configuration for the DU of the first IAB node (16b), which is determined at least in part on the RB set configuration.

2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising receiving a BWP configuration from the second network node and mapping the RB set to the BWP based in part on the BWP configuration, The mapping includes allocating an integer N physical resource blocks (PRBs) to each RB set in the first set of RB sets, and allocating a portion of the integer N PRBs to the remaining RB sets if the IAB-DU frequency resources do not encompass all available PRBs. The mapping method relies at least in part on whether a set of RBs of size N can encompass all available RBs, where N is an integer greater than 1.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein if the number of RB sets in the IAB-DU H / S / NA resource configuration exceeds N times the maximum number of RB sets M, the remaining RBs that are not part of the RB set configuration are deemed to be included in the last RB set, where N and M are integers greater than zero.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the RB set configuration includes an index that points to the lowest RB in the IAB-DU cell-and-carrier configuration.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the starting RB index of the first RB set for the IAB-DU H / S / NA resource configuration is the lowest RB index in the IAB-DU cell.

6. A method according to claim 1, wherein the resource multiplexing capability for the MT unit (26) and the DU (27) of the first IAB node (16b) includes at least one of time division multiplexing (TDM) requirements, frequency division multiplexing (FDM) requirements, and transmit / receive status indicators of the DU (27) and the MT unit (26).

7. A method according to claim 1, further comprising receiving an RB set configuration from the second network node, wherein the RB set configuration includes at least one of an indication of the RB set size, an indication of a mapping method for determining the mapping of the RB sets, a number of RB sets, and an indication of an indexing method for indexing the RB sets.

8. A method according to claim 1, wherein the IAB-DU H / S / NA resource configuration comprises at least one of a time-domain configuration, a frequency-domain configuration, and an indication of which slots should be time-domain multiplexed (TDM) and which slots should be frequency-domain multiplexed (FDM).

9. A method according to claim 1, further comprising receiving availability indications for a subset of RB sets configured as software.

10. A method according to claim 1, wherein the maximum number of consecutive and non-overlapping RB sets that can be configured for each cell in the IAB-DU cell-and-carrier configuration is eight.

11. A first integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

12. A method in an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) donor node (16a), wherein the IAB donor node (16a) communicates with a first IAB node (16b, 16c), the first IAB nodes (16b, 16c) are downstream of the IAB donor node (16a), and the method is Receiving resource multiplexing capability from the first IAB nodes (16b, 16c) (S42), The resource block (RB) set configuration is determined at least partially based on the resource redundancy capability (S44), Based at least partially on the RB set configuration, determine the DU resource configuration for the first IAB nodes (16b, 16c) (S46), The DU resource configuration is transmitted to the first IAB nodes (16b, 16c) (S48), If the RB set of the RB set configuration does not overlap with the bandwidth part (BWP) of the mobile termination (MT) unit (26) for the first IAB node (16b, 16c), the frequency domain configuration of hard / soft / unavailable (H / S / NA) attributes is omitted from the DU resource configuration. Methods that include...

13. A method according to claim 12, wherein the maximum number of consecutive and non-overlapping RB sets that can be configured for each cell in an IAB-DU cell-and-carrier configuration is eight.

14. A method according to claim 12, wherein the RB set configuration includes at least one of an indication of the RB set size, a number of RB sets, an indication of a mapping method for determining the mapping of RB sets by the first IAB node, and an indication of an indexing method for indexing RB sets.

15. An integrated access and backhaul (IAB) donor node, configured to perform the method described in any one of claims 12 to 14.

16. A method in a parent integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node (16b), wherein the parent IAB node (16b) communicates with an IAB donor node (16a) and a first IAB node (16c), and the parent IAB node (16b) is downstream of the IAB donor node (16a) and upstream of the first IAB node (16c), and the method is Optionally, activate the bandwidth part (BWP) of the mobile termination (MT) unit for the first IAB node (16c) (S50), Receiving a resource block (RB) set configuration from the IAB donor node (16a) (S52), wherein the RB set configuration includes a cell-by-cell distributed unit (DU) resource configuration of the first IAB node (16c). The system receives the cell-by-cell resource block (RB) set configuration of the first IAB node (16c) from one of the IAB donor node (16a) and the first IAB node (16c) (S54), Transmit an indication of the availability of DU resources to the first IAB node (16c) (S56), wherein the availability of DU resources is at least partially based on the DU resource configuration and RB set configuration for each cell of the first IAB node (16c). If the RB set in the RB set configuration does not overlap with the BWP of the MT unit, the frequency domain configuration of the hardware / software / unavailable (H / S / NA) attributes is omitted from the DU resource configuration. A method that includes this.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the DU resource configuration for each cell includes at least one hard / soft / unavailable (H / S / NA) attribute of the DU resource configuration, The RB set configuration for the cell includes an IAB-DU carrier configuration for the cell, in a method.

18. A method according to claim 16, wherein the maximum number of consecutive and non-overlapping RB sets that can be configured for each cell in an IAB-DU cell-and-carrier configuration is eight.

19. The method according to claim 16, further comprising considering, when the number of RB sets corresponding to an IAB-DU H / S / NA resource configuration exceeds N times the maximum number of RB sets M, the remaining RBs that are not part of the RB set configuration that should be included in the last RB set, where N and M are integers greater than zero.

20. A parent integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node (16b) configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 16 to 19.

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