Terminal, base station, communication method, and integrated circuit

Abstract

According to the present embodiment, a terminal comprises: a control circuit that specifies a second resource having a frequency allocation size different from the frequency allocation size of a first resource scheduled by a control signal; and a communication circuit that receives or transmits a signal by using the second resource.

Description

Terminal, base station, and communication method

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a terminal, a base station, and a communication method.

[0002] A communication system known as the fifth-generation mobile communication system (5G) is currently under consideration. The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), an international standardization organization, is studying the advancement of the 5G communication system from the perspectives of both the advancement of the LTE / LTE-Advanced system and New Radio Access Technology (also referred to as New RAT or NR), a new method that is not necessarily backward compatible with the LTE / LTE-Advanced system (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1).

[0003] RP-181726, “Revised WID on New Radio Access Technology”, NTT DOCOMO, September 2018RP-213661, “New SID on Study on further NR RedCap UE complexity reduction”, Ericsson, December 20213GPP TS 38.214 V17.2.0, “NR; Physical layer procedures for control (Release 17)”, 2022-06

[0004] There is room for further study on how to improve the reception performance of terminals.

[0005] Non-limiting examples of the present disclosure contribute to providing a terminal, a base station, and a communication method that can improve reception performance at the terminal.

[0006] A terminal according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a control circuit that identifies a second resource having a frequency allocation size different from a frequency allocation size of a first resource scheduled by a control signal, and a communication circuit that transmits or receives a signal using the second resource.

[0007] These comprehensive or specific aspects may be realized as a system, an apparatus, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, or a recording medium, or may be realized as any combination of a system, an apparatus, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, and a recording medium.

[0008] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, it is possible to improve reception performance at a terminal.

[0009] Further advantages and benefits of one embodiment of the present disclosure will become apparent from the specification and drawings. Such advantages and / or benefits may be provided by some embodiments and features described in the specification and drawings, respectively, but not necessarily all of them may be provided to obtain one or more identical features.

[0010] 1. Block diagram showing an example configuration of a portion of a base station; 2. Block diagram showing an example configuration of a portion of a terminal; 3. Block diagram showing an example configuration of a base station; 4. Block diagram showing an example configuration of a terminal; 5. Sequence diagram showing an example operation of a base station and a terminal; 6. Diagram of an exemplary architecture of a 3GPP NR system; 7. Schematic diagram showing functional separation between NG-RAN and 5GC; 8. Sequence diagram of the procedure for setting up / reconfiguring a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection; 9. Schematic diagram showing usage scenarios for enhanced Mobile BroadBand (eMBB), massive Machine Type Communications (mMTC), and Ultra Reliable and Low Latency Communications (URLLC); 10. Block diagram showing an exemplary 5G system architecture for a non-roaming scenario;

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0012] In the following description, for example, a radio frame, a slot, and a symbol are units of physical resources in the time domain. For example, the length of one frame may be 10 milliseconds. For example, one frame may be composed of multiple slots (e.g., 10, 20, or other values). Furthermore, the number of slots constituting one frame may be variable depending on the slot length. Furthermore, one slot may be composed of multiple symbols (e.g., 14 or 12). For example, one symbol is the smallest physical resource unit in the time domain, and the symbol length may vary depending on the subcarrier spacing (SCS).

[0013] Furthermore, a subcarrier and a resource block (RB) are units of physical resources in the frequency domain. For example, one resource block may consist of 12 subcarriers. For example, one subcarrier may be the smallest physical resource unit in the frequency domain. The subcarrier spacing is variable and may be, for example, 15 kHz, 30 kHz, 60 kHz, 120 kHz, 240 kHz, 480 kHz, 960 kHz, or other values.

[0014] [About evolved Reduced Capability NR Devices] In Release 18 NR (hereinafter also referred to as Rel-18 NR), specifications are expected to be formulated to realize devices that support a variety of use cases (e.g., evolved Reduced Capability NR Devices, also referred to as eRedCap or eRedCap terminals) by reducing power consumption or cost by limiting some characteristics or performance compared to Releases 15, 16, and 17 (hereinafter also referred to as Rel-15 / 16 / 17) (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 2).

[0015] For example, Rel-18 NR is expected to support terminals (e.g., mobile stations or user equipment (UE)) called eRedCap NR devices that operate in Frequency Range 1 (frequency bands below 6 GHz, also known as FR1 or sub-6).

[0016] The eRedCap terminal aims to reduce manufacturing costs, for example, by limiting the characteristics (e.g., capabilities) that it supports. Examples of characteristics related to frequency allocation size that the eRedCap terminal can support include the following: - the maximum frequency bandwidth used for transmission and reception is 5 MHz, or - the maximum number of RBs with a subcarrier spacing (SCS) of 15 kHz that are used for transmission and reception is 25, or - the maximum number of RBs with an SCS of 30 kHz that are used for transmission and reception is 11.

[0017] Here, terminals that support Rel-15 / 16 / 17, and terminals that support Rel-18 but whose frequency bandwidth or maximum number of RBs is greater than the capability of an eRedCap terminal, are referred to as "non-eRedCap terminals" or "non-eRedCap terminals" in comparison to eRedCap terminals. For example, Rel-17 RedCap terminals are also included in non-eRedCap terminals.

[0018] For example, in an eRedCap terminal, it is being considered to limit the frequency allocation size of a downlink data channel (e.g., PDSCH: Physical Downlink Shared Channel) or an uplink data channel (e.g., PUSCH: Physical Uplink Shared Channel) in accordance with the characteristics of the eRedCap mobile station. Here, the PDSCH may include, for example, a broadcast PDSCH that is commonly transmitted to multiple terminals.

[0019] In a cell that supports Rel-18, both eRedCap and non-eRedCap terminals may coexist. Thus, for example, a broadcast PDSCH is received by both eRedCap and non-eRedCap terminals.

[0020] This concludes our explanation of eRedCap.

[0021] NR Rel-17 supports "multi-PDSCH scheduling" in Frequency Range 2-2 (e.g., a frequency band of 52-71 GHz, also referred to as FR2-2) (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 3). In multi-PDSCH scheduling, for example, PDSCHs in multiple time resources are allocated by one Downlink Control Indicator (DCI).

[0022] For example, a method for allocating multiple resources with different frequency allocation sizes using one DCI has not been considered. Therefore, for example, in a cell where eRedCap terminals and non-eRedCap terminals coexist, it is difficult to allocate a broadcast PDSCH using multiple resources with different frequency sizes supported by the eRedCap terminals and non-eRedCap terminals.

[0023] Furthermore, for example, a base station (also referred to as a gNB) may allocate a broadcast PDSCH to one resource whose frequency size is larger than the characteristics of an eRedCap terminal. In this case, while a non-eRedCap terminal can receive the broadcast PDSCH, an eRedCap terminal can only receive a portion of the frequency resource of the broadcast PDSCH, which may result in degradation of reception performance in the eRedCap terminal.

[0024] Alternatively, for example, the base station may allocate a broadcast PDSCH to one resource whose frequency size is equal to or smaller than the characteristics of an eRedCap terminal. In this case, the frequency size of the broadcast PDSCH is smaller than the frequency size that a non-eRedCap terminal can support, and the reception performance of the non-eRedCap terminal may be degraded.

[0025] Therefore, in a non-limiting example of the present disclosure, a method for improving reception performance at a terminal in a cell where eRedCap terminals and non-eRedCap terminals coexist will be described.

[0026] In a non-limiting example of the present disclosure, a terminal (e.g., an eRedCap terminal) identifies a resource (hereinafter also referred to as a "second resource" or "other resource") having a different frequency allocation size from a resource (hereinafter referred to as a "first resource") scheduled by a control signal (e.g., DCI), and receives or transmits information using the second resource.

[0027] [Outline of Communication System] The communication system according to this embodiment includes a base station 100 and a terminal 200. The terminal 200 may be, for example, an eRedCap terminal.

[0028] Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a portion of a base station 100 according to this embodiment. In the base station 100 shown in Fig. 1, a control unit (e.g., corresponding to a control circuit) determines first resources to be scheduled by a control signal (e.g., DCI) and second resources having a frequency allocation size different from the frequency allocation size of the first resources. A communication unit (e.g., corresponding to a communication circuit) transmits or receives signals using the second resources.

[0029] Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a portion of terminal 200 according to this embodiment. In terminal 200 shown in Fig. 2, a control unit (e.g., corresponding to a control circuit) identifies a second resource having a frequency allocation size different from the frequency allocation size of a first resource scheduled by a control signal (e.g., DCI). A communication unit (e.g., corresponding to a communication circuit) transmits or receives a signal using the second resource.

[0030] [Configuration of Base Station] Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of base station 100 according to this embodiment. In Fig. 3, base station 100 has control section 101, DCI generation section 102, upper layer signal generation section 103, coding and modulation section 104, signal mapping section 105, transmission section 106, antenna 107, reception section 108, signal separation section 109, and demodulation and decoding section 110.

[0031] For example, at least one of the control unit 101, DCI generation unit 102, upper layer signal generation unit 103, coding / modulation unit 104, signal mapping unit 105, signal separation unit 109, and demodulation / decoding unit 110 shown in Fig. 3 may be included in the control unit shown in Fig. 1. Also, for example, at least one of the transmission unit 106, antenna 107, and reception unit 108 shown in Fig. 3 may be included in the communication unit shown in Fig. 1.

[0032] For example, the control unit 101 may determine resources (e.g., including first resources and second resources) to be allocated to the terminal 200. For example, the control unit 101 may instruct the upper layer signal generating unit 103 to generate an upper layer signal (e.g., also referred to as an upper layer parameter or upper layer signaling) based on information on the determined resources. Furthermore, the control unit 101 may instruct the DCI generating unit 102 to generate control information (e.g., DCI) to be included in a downlink control channel (e.g., PDCCH) based on information on the determined resources.

[0033] The DCI generating unit 102 may generate DCI based on an instruction from the control unit 101 , for example, and output the generated DCI to the signal mapping unit 105 .

[0034] The upper layer signal generating unit 103 may generate an upper layer signal such as system information based on instructions from the control unit 101, for example, and output the generated upper layer signal to the coding and modulation unit 104.

[0035] The coding / modulation unit 104 may, for example, perform error correction coding and modulation on the downlink data and the upper layer signal input from the upper layer signal generation unit 103, and output the modulated signal to the signal mapping unit 105.

[0036] For example, the signal mapping unit 105 may map the DCI input from the DCI generation unit 102 and the signal input from the coding and modulation unit 104 to resources. For example, the signal mapping unit 105 may map the signal input from the coding and modulation unit 104 to PDSCH resources and map the DCI to downlink control channel (e.g., PDCCH: Physical Downlink Control Channel) resources. The signal mapping unit 105 outputs the signals mapped to each resource to the transmission unit 106.

[0037] The transmitting unit 106 performs radio transmission processing, including frequency conversion (e.g., up-conversion) using a carrier wave, on the signal input from the signal placement unit 105, and outputs the signal after the radio transmission processing to the antenna 107.

[0038] The antenna 107, for example, emits a signal (for example, a downlink signal) input from the transmitting unit 106 toward the terminal 200. The antenna 107 also receives an uplink signal transmitted from the terminal 200, for example, and outputs the signal to the receiving unit 108.

[0039] The uplink signal may be a signal of a channel such as an uplink data channel (e.g., PUSCH), an uplink control channel (e.g., PUCCH: Physical Uplink Control Channel), or a random access channel (e.g., PRACH: Physical Random Access Channel).

[0040] Receiving section 108 performs radio reception processing including frequency conversion (for example, down-conversion) on the signal input from antenna 107 , and outputs the signal after radio reception processing to signal separating section 109 .

[0041] For example, signal separation section 109 extracts (in other words, separates) a signal on a PUCCH resource (for example, UCI) and a signal on a PRACH (for example, preamble) from the signals input from receiving section 108. Furthermore, signal separation section 109 outputs, for example, a signal on a PUSCH resource from the signals input from receiving section 108 to demodulation and decoding section 110.

[0042] The demodulation / decoding unit 110 demodulates and decodes the signal input from the signal separation unit 109, for example, and outputs uplink data.

[0043] [Configuration of Terminal] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of terminal 200 according to this embodiment.

[0044] In FIG. 4 , terminal 200 has antenna 201, receiving section 202, signal separating section 203, DCI detecting section 204, demodulating / decoding section 205, control section 206, coding / modulating section 207, signal mapping section 208, and transmitting section 209.

[0045] For example, at least one of signal separation section 203, DCI detection section 204, demodulation / decoding section 205, control section 206, coding / modulation section 207, and signal mapping section 208 shown in Fig. 4 may be included in the control section shown in Fig. 2. Also, for example, at least one of antenna 201, receiving section 202, and transmitting section 209 shown in Fig. 4 may be included in the communication section shown in Fig. 2.

[0046] The antenna 201 receives, for example, a downlink signal transmitted by the base station 100 and outputs the signal to the receiving unit 202. The antenna 201 also radiates, for example, an uplink signal input from the transmitting unit 209 to the base station 100.

[0047] The receiving unit 202 performs radio reception processing including frequency conversion (for example, down-conversion) on the signal input from the antenna 201 , and outputs the signal after radio reception processing to the signal separating unit 203 .

[0048] For example, signal separation section 203 extracts (in other words, separates) signals on PDCCH resources from the signals input from receiving section 202, and outputs the extracted signals to DCI detection section 204. Furthermore, signal separation section 203 outputs signals on PDSCH resources from the signals input from receiving section 202 to demodulation and decoding section 205, based on instructions from control section 206, for example.

[0049] For example, the DCI detection unit 204 may detect DCI from the signal (for example, the signal on the PDCCH resource) input from the signal separation unit 203. The DCI detection unit 204 may output the detected DCI to the control unit 206, for example.

[0050] The demodulation and decoding unit 205, for example, demodulates and performs error correction decoding on a signal (e.g., a signal on a PDSCH resource) input from the signal separation unit 203 to obtain at least one of downlink data and an upper layer signal such as system information. The demodulation and decoding unit 205 may, for example, output the upper layer signal obtained by decoding to the control unit 206. The demodulation and decoding unit 205 may also, for example, output the downlink data obtained by decoding.

[0051] The control unit 206 may determine (or identify) the PDSCH resource based on, for example, at least one of the DCI input from the DCI detection unit 204 and the higher layer signal (for example, system information) input from the demodulation and decoding unit 205. For example, the control unit 206 may output (for example, instruct) information regarding the identified PDSCH resource to the signal separation unit 203.

[0052] The coding and modulation unit 207 may, for example, code and modulate uplink data (for example, PUSCH) and output the modulated signal to the signal mapping unit 208 .

[0053] For example, signal mapping section 208 may map a signal input from coding and modulation section 207 to a PUSCH resource. Furthermore, signal mapping section 208 may map UCI to a PUCCH resource. Furthermore, signal mapping section 208 may map a preamble to a PRACH resource. Signal mapping section 208 outputs the signal mapped to each resource to transmission section 209.

[0054] The transmitting section 209 performs radio transmission processing including, for example, frequency conversion (for example, up-conversion) on the signal input from the signal mapping section 208 , and outputs the signal after radio transmission processing to the antenna 201 .

[0055] [Example of Operation of Base Station 100 and Terminal 200] Next, an example of operation of the base station 100 and terminal 200 described above will be described.

[0056] [Operation Example 1] In operation example 1, for a first resource scheduled by DCI and a second resource having a frequency allocation size different from that of the first resource, the number of RBs allocated to the second resource is smaller than the number of RBs allocated to the first resource.

[0057] FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processing by the base station 100 (e.g., gNB) and the terminal 200 (e.g., UE).

[0058] <S101> The base station 100 determines, for example, a first resource and a second resource. At this time, the base station 100 may set different frequency allocation sizes (for example, the number of RBs) for the first resource and the second resource. For example, the number of RBs corresponding to the second resource may be smaller than the number of RBs corresponding to the first resource.

[0059] As an example, the first resource and the second resource may be resources for a broadcast PDSCH.

[0060] <S102 / S103> The base station 100 may transmit, for example, a control signal (for example, DCI) that allocates (or schedules) at least the first resource to the terminal 200 (for example, eRedCap terminal).

[0061] For example, the terminal 200 may receive a control signal (for example, DCI) from the base station 100. The terminal 200 may identify at least a first resource based on the received DCI.

[0062] <S104> Terminal 200 may identify a second resource having, for example, a smaller number of RBs than the first resource. Terminal 200 may identify the second resource based on the received DCI, or may identify the second resource based on information different from the received DCI.

[0063] For example, terminal 200 (e.g., eRedCap terminal) may determine the number of RBs of the second resource based on the characteristics (capability) of terminal 200. For example, if the characteristics of terminal 200 (e.g., eRedCap terminal) are such that the maximum number of RBs used for transmission and reception is 25 for SCS 15 kHz and 11 for SCS 30 kHz, terminal 200 may determine the number of RBs of the second resource to be 25 for SCS 15 kHz and 11 for SCS 30 kHz. Note that the number of RBs of the second resource is not limited to being set to the maximum number of RBs corresponding to the characteristics of terminal 200, and may be set to a value equal to or less than the maximum number of RBs.

[0064] Alternatively, for example, terminal 200 (e.g., eRedCap terminal) may determine the number of RBs of the second resource based on information about the first resource (e.g., the number of RBs). For example, terminal 200 may determine the number of RBs of the second resource according to equation (1).

[0065] The method for determining the number of RBs of the second resource based on the number of RBs of the first resource is not limited to the method according to equation (1), and other equations may be used.

[0066] Alternatively, for example, terminal 200 (for example, eRedCap terminal) may determine the number of RBs of the second resource based on information (for example, the number of RBs) related to an active BWP (Bandwidth Part) set in terminal 200. For example, the number of RBs of the second resource may be set to the same number as the number of RBs of the active BWP set for terminal 200. Note that the number of RBs of the second resource is not limited to being set to the number of RBs of the active BWP set in terminal 200, and may be set to a value equal to or less than the number of RBs of the active BWP.

[0067] Alternatively, for example, the number of RBs of the second resource may be notified to terminal 200 (e.g., an eRedCap terminal) by a control signal from base station 100, may be pre-set in terminal 200, or may be pre-specified in a standard.

[0068] Alternatively, for example, the number of RBs of the second resource may be determined based on other parameters (e.g., time domain resources of the second resource) notified to the terminal 200 (e.g., an eRedCap terminal) by a control signal from the base station 100.

[0069] Alternatively, the number of RBs of the second resource may be determined by a combination of the above-mentioned methods.

[0070] <S105 / S106> The base station 100 uses the determined second resource to transmit information addressed to the terminal 200 (for example, an eRedCap terminal).

[0071] The terminal 200 (eRedCap terminal) receives information addressed to the terminal 200, for example, using the identified second resource.

[0072] According to operation example 1, terminal 200 (e.g., eRedCap terminal) can receive a signal (e.g., broadcast PDSCH) using second resources with a number of RBs suitable for the characteristics of terminal 200. This makes it possible to suppress degradation of reception performance in eRedCap terminals in a cell where eRedCap terminals and non-eRedCap terminals coexist.

[0073] Furthermore, for example, a non-eRedCap terminal can receive a signal (for example, a broadcast PDSCH) using the first resource notified by the DCI. This allows, for example, a non-eRedCap terminal receiving the broadcast PDSCH using the first resource to receive the broadcast PDSCH without being affected by frequency allocation for the eRedCap terminal.

[0074] The allocation of RBs in the second resource may be either contiguous or non-contiguous in frequency. For example, when the RBs in the second resource are non-contiguous in frequency, the frequency bandwidth of the second resource (e.g., the frequency range from the lowest RB to the highest RB) may be equal to or wider than the frequency bandwidth of the first resource.

[0075] For example, when the RB allocation in the second resource is a contiguous allocation in frequency, there is an effect that it is less likely to affect resource allocation to other terminals different from terminal 200 (for example, non-eRedCap terminals). Also, for example, when the RB allocation in the second resource is a non-contiguous allocation in frequency, there is an effect that it is possible to flexibly allocate resources to terminal 200 (for example, eRedCap terminal 9).

[0076] <Operation Example 2> In Operation Example 2, for a first resource scheduled by DCI and a second resource having a frequency allocation size different from that of the first resource, the frequency bandwidth allocated to the second resource is narrower than the frequency bandwidth allocated to the first resource.

[0077] A sequence diagram showing an example of the processing of the base station 100 and the terminal 200 according to the second operation example may be similar to that of the first operation example (for example, FIG. 5).

[0078] <S101> The base station 100 determines, for example, a first resource and a second resource. At this time, the base station 100 may set different frequency allocation sizes (for example, frequency bandwidths) for the first resource and the second resource. For example, the frequency bandwidth corresponding to the second resource may be narrower than the frequency bandwidth corresponding to the first resource.

[0079] As an example, the first resource and the second resource may be resources for a broadcast PDSCH.

[0080] <S102 / S103> The base station 100 may transmit, for example, a control signal (for example, DCI) that allocates (or schedules) at least the first resource to the terminal 200 (for example, eRedCap terminal).

[0081] For example, the terminal 200 may receive a control signal (for example, DCI) from the base station 100. The terminal 200 may identify at least a first resource based on the received DCI.

[0082] <S104> Terminal 200 may identify a second resource having a narrower frequency bandwidth than the first resource, for example. Terminal 200 may identify the second resource based on the received DCI, or may identify the second resource based on information different from the received DCI.

[0083] For example, terminal 200 (e.g., eRedCap terminal) may determine the frequency bandwidth of the second resource based on the characteristics (capability) of terminal 200. For example, if the characteristics of terminal 200 (e.g., eRedCap terminal) indicate that the maximum value of the frequency bandwidth used for transmission and reception is 5 MHz, terminal 200 may determine the frequency bandwidth of the second resource to be 5 MHz. Note that the frequency bandwidth of the second resource is not limited to being set to the maximum value of the frequency bandwidth corresponding to the characteristics of terminal 200, and may be set to a value equal to or less than the maximum value of the frequency bandwidth.

[0084] Alternatively, for example, terminal 200 (e.g., eRedCap terminal) may determine the frequency bandwidth of the second resource based on information (e.g., frequency bandwidth) related to the first resource. For example, terminal 200 may determine the frequency bandwidth of the second resource according to Equation (2).

[0085] The method for determining the frequency bandwidth of the second resource based on the frequency bandwidth of the first resource is not limited to the method according to equation (2), and other equations may be used.

[0086] Alternatively, for example, the terminal 200 (for example, an eRedCap terminal) may determine the frequency bandwidth of the second resource based on information (for example, frequency bandwidth) related to an active BWP (Bandwidth Part) set in the terminal 200. For example, the frequency bandwidth of the second resource may be set to the same number as the frequency bandwidth of the active BWP set for the terminal 200. Note that the frequency bandwidth of the second resource is not limited to being set to the frequency bandwidth of the active BWP set in the terminal 200, and may be set to a value equal to or less than the frequency bandwidth of the active BWP.

[0087] Alternatively, for example, the frequency bandwidth of the second resource may be notified to the terminal 200 (e.g., an eRedCap terminal) by a control signal from the base station 100, may be pre-configured in the terminal 200, or may be pre-specified in a standard.

[0088] Alternatively, for example, the frequency bandwidth of the second resource may be determined based on other parameters (e.g., time domain resources of the second resource) notified to the terminal 200 (e.g., an eRedCap terminal) by a control signal from the base station 100.

[0089] Alternatively, the frequency bandwidth of the second resource may be determined by a combination of the above-mentioned methods.

[0090] <S105 / S106> The base station 100 uses the determined second resource to transmit information addressed to the terminal 200 (for example, an eRedCap terminal).

[0091] The terminal 200 (eRedCap terminal) receives information addressed to the terminal 200, for example, using the identified second resource.

[0092] According to the second operation example, the terminal 200 (for example, an eRedCap terminal) can receive a signal (for example, a broadcast PDSCH) using a second resource having a frequency bandwidth suitable for the characteristics of the terminal 200. This makes it possible to suppress deterioration of reception performance in the eRedCap terminal in a cell where eRedCap terminals and non-eRedCap terminals coexist.

[0093] Furthermore, for example, a non-eRedCap terminal can receive a broadcast PDSCH using the first resource notified by the DCI. This allows, for example, a non-eRedCap terminal receiving a broadcast PDSCH using the first resource to receive the broadcast PDSCH without being affected by frequency allocation for eRedCap terminals.

[0094] In the second example operation, the second resource may include RBs whose number does not exceed the determined or specified frequency bandwidth. For example, the second resource may include the maximum number of RBs within the range that does not exceed the frequency bandwidth. Furthermore, the RBs may be arranged contiguously or non-contiguously in frequency.

[0095] An example of the operation of the base station 100 and the terminal 200 has been described above.

[0096] As described above, in this embodiment, base station 100 determines first resources scheduled by DCI and second resources having a frequency allocation size different from the frequency allocation size of the first resources, and transmits or receives signals using the second resources. Also, terminal 200 identifies second resources having a frequency allocation size different from the frequency allocation size of the first resources scheduled by DCI, and transmits or receives signals using the second resources.

[0097] This allows base station 100 to allocate, for example, multiple resources with different frequency allocation sizes using one DCI. Therefore, for example, in a cell where eRedCap terminals and non-eRedCap terminals coexist, it becomes possible to allocate a broadcast PDSCH using multiple resources with different frequency sizes supported by each of the eRedCap terminals and non-eRedCap terminals.

[0098] Furthermore, for example, since the broadcast PDSCH can be assigned to resources according to the respective characteristics of the eRedCap terminal and the non-eRedCap terminal, the non-eRedCap terminal and the eRedCap terminal can properly receive the broadcast PDSCH, thereby improving the reception performance of the non-eRedCap terminal and the eRedCap terminal.

[0099] (Other embodiments) (Regarding frequency allocation size) In the above embodiment, an example was described in which the frequency allocation size of the second resource (e.g., the number of RBs or frequency bandwidth) is smaller than the frequency allocation size of the first resource, and an eRedCap terminal receives a broadcast PDSCH using the second resource, and a non-eRedCap terminal receives a broadcast PDSCH using the first resource, but other methods may also be used.

[0100] For example, the frequency allocation size of the second resource may be larger than the frequency allocation size of the first resource. Also, for example, an eRedCap terminal may receive a broadcast PDSCH using the first resource, and a non-eRedCap terminal may receive a broadcast PDSCH using the second resource.

[0101] (Regarding Broadcast) In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which a terminal (for example, an eRedCap terminal or a non-eRedCap terminal) receives a broadcast PDSCH.

[0102] Here, the broadcast PDSCH may be a signal or a channel that transmits the same data (also called a Transport Block (TB) or a Codeword (CW)) to multiple terminals. For example, the data transmitted by the first resource and the second resource may be the same.

[0103] For example, system information (SI), paging, Message 2, Message B, or other information may be transmitted to multiple terminals via the broadcast PDSCH.

[0104] Furthermore, the DCI to which the broadcast PDSCH is assigned may be scrambled by, for example, a Radio Network Temporary Identifier (SI-RNTI), a P-RNTI, or a RA-RNTI. This makes it possible to suppress degradation of reception performance when receiving SI, paging, Message 2, Message B, etc.

[0105] The first resource and the second resource are not limited to signals to be broadcast (e.g., broadcast PDSCH), but may be used for signals to be groupcast or multicast. For example, in a sidelink, control information (e.g., Sidelink Control Information (SCI)) for scheduling the first resource may include information indicating whether the resource is for broadcast or groupcast (e.g., a cast type indicator). In the case of a sidelink, the first resource and the second resource may be, for example, a Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH) or another channel.

[0106] (Conditions for Using Second Resources) In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which terminal 200 (for example, eRedCap terminal) receives broadcast PDSCH using second resources, but the reception method is not limited to this.

[0107] For example, when a certain condition is satisfied, the terminal 200 may use the second resource. In this case, the terminal 200 may be an eRedCap terminal or a non-eRedCap terminal.

[0108] For example, if the frequency allocation size of the first resource is larger than the frequency size based on information about the terminal 200 (e.g., the number of RBs or frequency bandwidth used by the terminal 200 for transmission and reception), the terminal 200 may receive or transmit a signal using the second resource.

[0109] Alternatively, for example, if the frequency allocation size of the first resource is larger than the number of RBs or frequency bandwidth of the active BWP set in the terminal 200, the terminal 200 may receive or transmit a signal using the second resource.

[0110] This allows not only eRedCap terminals but also non-eRedCap terminals to properly transmit and receive signals using the second resource.

[0111] (Specifying Frequency Location) In the above embodiment, the terminal 200 may specify the frequency location of the second resource based on a certain method.

[0112] For example, the RB index of the second resource (e.g., the index of the RB corresponding to the lowest RB, the highest RB, or the center) may be set based on the RB index of the first resource (e.g., the index of the RB corresponding to the lowest RB, the highest RB, or the center).

[0113] For example, terminal 200 may specify that the index of the lowest, highest, or center RB among the RBs of the second resource is the same as the index of the lowest, highest, or center RB among the RBs of the first resource, thereby eliminating the need for a control signal to report the frequency location of the second resource.

[0114] Furthermore, for example, terminal 200 may identify the RB index of the second resource using the RB index of the first resource and an offset. The offset may be notified to terminal 200 by a control signal, may be configured in terminal 200 in advance, or may be specified in a standard.

[0115] Alternatively, the index of the lowest RB, the highest RB, or the center RB among the RBs of the second resource may be notified to terminal 200 by a control signal, may be pre-set in terminal 200, or may be specified in a standard.

[0116] Alternatively, the index of the lowest RB, the highest RB, or the center RB among the RBs of the second resource may be identified by a combination of the above methods.

[0117] (Specifying Time Position) In the above embodiment, the terminal 200 may specify the time position (time resource) of the second resource based on a certain method.

[0118] For example, the time resource of the second resource may be the same as or overlap with the time resource of the first resource. For example, the index of the first symbol of the second resource may be the same as the index of the first symbol of the first resource. This eliminates the need for a control signal for notifying the time position of the second resource. Note that the symbol of the second resource identified based on the first resource is not limited to the first symbol and may be another symbol. Similarly, the symbol of the first resource used to identify the time position of the second resource is not limited to the first symbol and may be another symbol.

[0119] Alternatively, for example, the time resource of the second resource may be different from the time resource of the first resource. This prevents the first resource and the second resource from colliding with each other, thereby reducing the possibility of mutual interference. In this case, the time resource of the second resource may be notified by a control signal, may be preset in the terminal 200, or may be specified in a standard.

[0120] Alternatively, the time position of the second resource may be set to be N slots or N symbols later or earlier than the time position of the first resource.

[0121] At this time, the value of N may be notified to terminal 200 by a control signal, may be set in terminal 200 in advance, or may be defined in a standard.

[0122] Furthermore, the value of N may be the number of slots counted based on consecutive slots, or may be the number of slots counted based on available slots for transmission and reception of the second resource. For example, the "available slots" may be slots that do not include slots including a Synchronization Signal (SS) / PBCH Block (SSB) and slots with opposite uplink / downlink transmission directions. Setting the value of N based on available slots prevents signals transmitted and received by terminal 200 in the second resource from colliding with SSBs and signals with opposite uplink / downlink transmission directions, thereby reducing the possibility of mutual interference.

[0123] (Setting of Time Length) In the above-described embodiment, the terminal 200 may specify the time length of the second resource based on a certain method.

[0124] For example, the time length of the second resource may be set to M slots or M symbols.

[0125] For example, the value of M may be determined based on the duration of the first resource. For example, the value of M may be the same as the duration of the first resource or may be different from the duration of the first resource. For example, the value of M may be two, four, half, one-quarter, or some other multiple of the duration of the first resource.

[0126] Alternatively, for example, information regarding M (for example, information used to identify M) may be notified to terminal 200 by a control signal, may be set in terminal 200 in advance, or may be specified in a standard.

[0127] For example, the larger the value of M, the longer the time length of the second resource, improving the reception performance of reception using the second resource.Also, the smaller the value of M, the shorter the time length of the second resource, reducing the overhead caused by the second resource.

[0128] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, terminal 200 may, for example, determine the number of time repetitions of the second resource based on a certain method. The number of repetitions may be notified to terminal 200 by a control signal, may be preset in terminal 200, or may be specified in a standard. The greater the number of repetitions, the better the reception performance of reception using the second resource. Furthermore, the smaller the number of repetitions, the more the overhead caused by the second resource can be reduced.

[0129] The time resource used for the repeated transmission of the second resource may be selected from the aforementioned "available slots." In other words, the terminal 200 may perform the repeated transmission of the second resource using only the aforementioned "available slots." This prevents the signals transmitted and received by the terminal 200 in the second resource from colliding with SSB and signals with opposite uplink / downlink transmission directions, thereby reducing the possibility of mutual interference.

[0130] (Type of Signal / Channel) In the above embodiment, a case where a broadcast PDSCH is transmitted and received using a first resource and a second resource has been described. However, the signal or channel transmitted and received using the first resource and the second resource is not limited to the broadcast PDSCH, and may be another signal or channel.

[0131] For example, the PBCH, PSBCH (Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel), PSFCH (Physical Sidelink Feedback Channel), PUSCH, PUCCH, and PRACH may be transmitted using the first resource and the second resource, thereby suppressing performance degradation in transmission and reception of these channels.

[0132] For example, although the above embodiment has been described as an example of a downlink, it can also be applied to an uplink PUSCH, PUCCH, or PRACH. For example, a PUSCH, a PUCCH, or a PRACH may be transmitted in the first resource and the second resource. This can suppress performance degradation in transmission and reception of these channels.

[0133] Also, for example, the PDCCH in the above operation example may be replaced with a PUCCH.

[0134] Furthermore, the signals or channels transmitted in the first resource and the second resource may be the same or different.

[0135] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the case where the PDSCH or PUSCH resources are allocated by the PDCCH (for example, DCI) has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the resources may be set by a higher layer signal.

[0136] The above-described embodiments can also be applied to a PDCCH. For example, a PDCCH may be transmitted using a first resource and a second resource. In this case, the first resource may be notified to terminal 200 by a control signal other than DCI, may be preset in terminal 200, or may be specified in a standard. Furthermore, terminal 200 may identify the second resource using, for example, any of the methods described in the above-described embodiments.

[0137] (Transmission and reception method) In addition, in the above embodiment, a terminal (for example, an eRedCap terminal or a non-eRedCap terminal) may transmit and receive a signal (for example, a broadcast PDSCH) using a second resource without using a first resource.

[0138] Alternatively, the terminal may transmit and receive signals using both the first resource and the second resource, for example, by combining signals on the two resources, the first resource and the second resource, the reception performance of the signal can be improved.

[0139] In this case, the first resource may transmit signal bits that are not transmitted on the second resource in a frequency range that overlaps with the second resource, thereby further improving reception performance by combining signals on the first resource and the second resource.

[0140] Furthermore, for example, the same information may be transmitted in the second resource and the first resource, but may have different redundancy versions (RVs). The terminal 200 can further improve reception performance by, for example, combining signals including different RVs.

[0141] In the above-described embodiment, the first resource and the second resource may be multiplexed using code division multiplexing (CDM), thereby reducing resource overhead.

[0142] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, a method in which an eRedCap terminal receives a signal (e.g., a broadcast PDSCH) using the second resource has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this reception method. For example, the eRedCap terminal may receive the broadcast PDSCH using a portion of the first resource. In this case, the eRedCap terminal does not need to use the second resource. In this case, the portion of the first resource may be, for example, one or more RBs, and the RBs that are a portion of the first resource may be RBs that include many bits corresponding to columns with a large number of non-zero elements in the parity matrix for encoding. This can improve the reception performance of the eRedCap terminal.

[0143] Furthermore, at this time, the bits of the first resource may be arranged in a random order using an interleaver, etc. This makes the reception performance constant regardless of the RBs received by the eRedCap terminal.

[0144] (Other Control Information) In the above embodiment, terminal 200 may specify that other control information related to the second resource, which is different from the time-frequency resource, is the same as the control information related to the first resource. The other control information may include, for example, other allocation information different from the time-frequency resource (for example, information related to hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) or information related to antenna ports). This makes it possible to omit reporting of the other control information.

[0145] Note that the other control information regarding the second resource, which is different from the time-frequency resource, may be different from the control information regarding the first resource. For example, the other control information regarding the second resource may be identified based on the control information regarding the first resource, and may be notified from base station 100 to terminal 200.

[0146] (Number of Resources) In the above embodiment, the number of second resources is not limited to one, and may be multiple. For example, the second resources having a different frequency allocation size from the first resources may include multiple resources such as resource #1, resource #2, .... This can improve the reception performance of terminals of different types, such as eRedCap terminals and non-eRedCap terminals.

[0147] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the number of first resources scheduled by the control signal is not limited to 1, and may be multiple. For example, terminal 200 may specify a second resource having a frequency allocation size different from that of at least one resource among the multiple first resources scheduled by the control signal.

[0148] (Type and Identification of Terminal) The above embodiment may be applied to, for example, an "eRedCap terminal", a non-eRedCap terminal, or other types of terminals.

[0149] In the above embodiment, the case where the maximum frequency allocation size (e.g., frequency bandwidth or number of RBs) supported is equal to or less than a threshold has been described as an example of a feature (e.g., characteristic, attribute, or capability) of an eRedCap terminal. However, an eRedCap terminal may also be a terminal having at least one of the following features, for example: (1) A terminal that notifies (e.g., reports) to base station 100 that it is a "terminal that is a target of coverage extension," a "terminal that receives repeatedly transmitted signals," or a "RedCap terminal." Note that, for example, uplink channels such as PRACH and PUSCH, or uplink signals such as Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), may be used for the above notification (report). (2) A terminal that corresponds to at least one of the following capabilities, or a terminal that reports at least one of the following capabilities to base station 100. Note that, for example, uplink channels such as PRACH and PUSCH, or uplink signals such as UCI or SRS may be used for the above report. - A terminal whose transmittable / receiveable frequency bandwidth (e.g., maximum value) is below a threshold (e.g., 5 MHz or less). - A terminal whose transmittable / receiveable number of RBs (e.g., maximum number) is below a threshold (e.g., 25 or less or 11 or less). - A terminal whose implemented number of receive antennas is below a threshold (e.g., threshold = 1). - A terminal whose supportable number of downlink ports (e.g., number of receive antenna ports) is below a threshold (e.g., threshold = 2). - A terminal whose supportable number of transmission ranks (e.g., maximum number of Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) layers (or rank number)) is below a threshold (e.g., threshold = 2). - A terminal that can transmit and receive signals in a frequency band below a threshold (e.g., Frequency Range 1 (FR1) or a band below 6 GHz). - A terminal whose processing time is above a threshold. - A terminal whose usable transport block size (TBS) is below a threshold. - A terminal whose usable number of transmission ranks (e.g., number of MIMO transmission layers) is below a threshold. - A terminal whose usable modulation order is below a threshold. - A terminal in which the number of available HARQ processes is below a threshold.- A terminal that supports Rel-18 or later. (3) A terminal to which parameters corresponding to an eRedCap terminal are notified from the base station 100. Note that the parameters corresponding to an eRedCap terminal may include, for example, a parameter such as a Subscriber Profile ID for RAT / Frequency Priority (SPID).

[0150] In addition, "non-eRedCap terminal" or "non-eRedCap terminal" may mean, for example, a terminal that supports Rel-15 / 16 / 17 (e.g., a terminal that does not support Rel-18), or a terminal that supports Rel-18 but does not have the above features.

[0151] (Supplementary Note) Information indicating whether the terminal 200 supports the functions, operations, or processes described in the above-described embodiments may be transmitted (or notified) from the terminal 200 to the base station 100, for example, as capability information or capability parameters of the terminal 200.

[0152] The capability information may include an information element (IE) that individually indicates whether or not the terminal 200 supports at least one of the functions, operations, or processes described in the above-described embodiments. Alternatively, the capability information may include an information element that indicates whether or not the terminal 200 supports a combination of any two or more of the functions, operations, or processes described in the above-described embodiments, modifications, and supplements.

[0153] For example, the base station 100 may determine (or decide or assume) the functions, operations, or processes that the terminal 200 that transmitted the capability information supports (or does not support) based on the capability information received from the terminal 200. The base station 100 may perform operations, processes, or controls according to the determination result based on the capability information. For example, the base station 100 may control frequency resources to be allocated to the terminal based on the capability information received from the terminal 200.

[0154] Note that the fact that terminal 200 does not support some of the functions, operations, or processes described in the above-described embodiments may be interpreted as meaning that such some of the functions, operations, or processes are restricted in terminal 200. For example, information or a request regarding such restrictions may be notified to base station 100.

[0155] Information regarding the capabilities or limitations of terminal 200 may, for example, be defined in a standard, or may be implicitly notified to base station 100 in association with information known at base station 100 or information transmitted to base station 100.

[0156] (Control Signal) In the present disclosure, a downlink control signal (or downlink control information) related to an embodiment of the present disclosure may be, for example, a signal (or information) transmitted in a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) of a physical layer, or a signal (or information) transmitted in a Medium Access Control Control Element (MAC CE) or Radio Resource Control (RRC) of a higher layer. Furthermore, the signal (or information) is not limited to being notified by a downlink control signal, but may be predefined in a specification (or standard) or preconfigured in a base station and a terminal.

[0157] Furthermore, the PDCCH may be transmitted, for example, in either a Common Search Space (CSS) or a UE Specific Search Space (USS).

[0158] (Base Station) In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station may be a Transmission Reception Point (TRP), a cluster head, an access point, a Remote Radio Head (RRH), an eNodeB (eNB), a gNodeB (gNB), a Base Station (BS), a Base Transceiver Station (BTS), a parent device, a gateway, or the like. In sidelink communication, a terminal may play the role of a base station. Instead of a base station, a relay device that relays communication between an upper node and a terminal may be used. Alternatively, a roadside unit may be used.

[0159] (Uplink / Downlink / Sidelink) An embodiment of the present disclosure may be applied to, for example, any of the uplink, downlink, and sidelink. For example, an embodiment of the present disclosure may be applied to a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), or a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) in the uplink, a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), a PDCCH, or a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) in the downlink, or a Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH), a Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH), or a Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH) in the sidelink.

[0160] The PDCCH, PDSCH, PUSCH, and PUCCH are examples of a downlink control channel, a downlink data channel, an uplink data channel, and an uplink control channel, respectively. The PSCCH and PSSCH are examples of a sidelink control channel and a sidelink data channel. The PBCH and PSBCH are examples of a broadcast channel, and the PRACH is an example of a random access channel.

[0161] (Data Channel / Control Channel) An embodiment of the present disclosure may be applied to, for example, either a data channel or a control channel. For example, the channel in an embodiment of the present disclosure may be replaced with any of the data channels PDSCH, PUSCH, and PSSCH, or the control channels PDCCH, PUCCH, PBCH, PSCCH, and PSBCH.

[0162] (Reference Signal) In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the reference signal is, for example, a signal known by both the base station and the terminal, and may also be called a Reference Signal (RS) or a pilot signal. The reference signal may be any of a Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS), a Channel State Information - Reference Signal (CSI-RS), a Tracking Reference Signal (TRS), a Phase Tracking Reference Signal (PTRS), a Cell-specific Reference Signal (CRS), or a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS).

[0163] (Time Interval) In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the unit of time resource is not limited to one or a combination of slots and symbols, but may be, for example, a time resource unit such as a frame, a superframe, a subframe, a slot, a time slot subslot, a minislot, or a symbol, an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, a Single Carrier-Frequency Division Multiplexing (SC-FDMA) symbol, or another time resource unit. Furthermore, the number of symbols included in one slot is not limited to the number of symbols exemplified in the above-mentioned embodiment, and may be another number of symbols.

[0164] (Frequency Band) An embodiment of the present disclosure may be applied to both licensed and unlicensed bands (unlicensed spectrum, shared spectrum). In the case of unlicensed bands, a channel access procedure (Listen Before Talk (LBT), carrier sense, Channel Clear Assessment (CCA)) may be performed before each signal transmission.

[0165] (Communication) An embodiment of the present disclosure may be applied to communication between a base station and a terminal (Uu link communication), communication between terminals (Sidelink communication), or Vehicle to Everything (V2X) communication. For example, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the PDCCH may be replaced with a PSCCH, the PUSCH / PDSCH may be replaced with a PSSCH, the PUCCH may be replaced with a Physical Sidelink Feedback Channel (PSFCH), and the PBCH may be replaced with a PSBCH.

[0166] An embodiment of the present disclosure may be applied to a terrestrial network, a non-terrestrial network (NTN) using a satellite or a high altitude pseudo satellite (HAPS), or a terrestrial network in which transmission delay is large compared to the symbol length or slot length, such as a network with a large cell size or an ultra-wideband transmission network.

[0167] (Antenna Port) In one embodiment of the present disclosure, an antenna port refers to a logical antenna (antenna group) consisting of one or more physical antennas. For example, an antenna port does not necessarily refer to a single physical antenna, but may refer to an array antenna consisting of multiple antennas. For example, the number of physical antennas that an antenna port is composed of is not specified, and the antenna port may be specified as the smallest unit by which a terminal station can transmit a reference signal. Furthermore, an antenna port may also be specified as the smallest unit by which a weighting of a precoding vector is multiplied.

[0168] 5G NR System Architecture and Protocol Stack 3GPP continues work on the next release of fifth-generation cellular technology (also referred to simply as "5G"), which includes the development of new radio access technology (NR) operating in the frequency range up to 100 GHz. The first version of the 5G standard was completed at the end of 2017, allowing for the prototyping and commercial deployment of 5G NR-compliant devices (e.g., smartphones).

[0169] For example, the system architecture generally assumes a Next Generation - Radio Access Network (NG-RAN) comprising gNBs. The gNBs provide UE-side termination of the NG radio access user plane (SDAP / PDCP / RLC / MAC / PHY) and control plane (RRC) protocols. The gNBs are connected to each other via an Xn interface. The gNBs are also connected to a Next Generation Core (NGC) via a Next Generation (NG) interface, more specifically to an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) (e.g., a specific core entity performing AMF) via an NG-C interface, and to a User Plane Function (UPF) (e.g., a specific core entity performing UPF) via an NG-U interface. The NG-RAN architecture is shown in Figure 6 (see, for example, 3GPP TS 38.300 v15.6.0, section 4).

[0170] The NR user plane protocol stack (see, for example, 3GPP TS 38.300, section 4.4.1) includes a PDCP (Packet Data Convergence Protocol (see, for example, TS 38.300, section 6.4)) sublayer, a RLC (Radio Link Control (see, for example, TS 38.300, section 6.3)) sublayer, and a MAC (Medium Access Control (see, for example, TS 38.300, section 6.2)) sublayer, which are terminated on the network side in the gNB. A new access stratum (AS) sublayer (SDAP: Service Data Adaptation Protocol) has also been introduced above PDCP (see, for example, 3GPP TS 38.300, section 6.5). A control plane protocol stack has also been defined for the NR (see, for example, TS 38.300, section 4.4.2). An overview of Layer 2 functions is described in Section 6 of TS 38.300. The functions of the PDCP sublayer, RLC sublayer, and MAC sublayer are listed in clauses 6.4, 6.3, and 6.2 of TS 38.300, respectively. The functions of the RRC layer are listed in clause 7 of TS 38.300.

[0171] For example, the Medium-Access-Control layer handles logical channel multiplexing and scheduling and scheduling-related functions, including handling various numerologies.

[0172] For example, the physical layer (PHY) is responsible for coding, PHY HARQ processing, modulation, multi-antenna processing, and mapping of signals to appropriate physical time-frequency resources. The physical layer also handles mapping of transport channels to physical channels. The physical layer provides services to the MAC layer in the form of transport channels. A physical channel corresponds to a set of time-frequency resources used for transmitting a specific transport channel, and each transport channel is mapped to a corresponding physical channel. For example, physical channels include the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH), the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), and the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) as uplink physical channels, and the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), and the Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) as downlink physical channels.

[0173] NR use cases / deployment scenarios may include enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC), and massive machine-type communication (mMTC), which have diverse requirements in terms of data rate, latency, and coverage. For example, eMBB is expected to support peak data rates (20 Gbps in the downlink and 10 Gbps in the uplink) and effective (user-experienced) data rates approximately three times higher than those offered by IMT-Advanced. On the other hand, URLLC imposes stricter requirements on ultra-low latency (0.5 ms for user plane latency in both UL and DL) and high reliability (1-10-5 within 1 ms). Finally, mMTC preferably requires high connection density (1,000,000 devices / km in urban environments).２ ), wide coverage in adverse environments, and extremely long battery life (15 years) for a low-cost device may be desired.

[0174] Therefore, OFDM numerology (e.g., subcarrier spacing, OFDM symbol length, cyclic prefix (CP) length, number of symbols per scheduling interval) suitable for one use case may not be valid for another use case. For example, low-latency services may preferably require a shorter symbol length (and therefore a larger subcarrier spacing) and / or fewer symbols per scheduling interval (also referred to as TTI) than mMTC services. Furthermore, deployment scenarios with large channel delay spreads may preferably require a longer CP length than scenarios with short delay spreads. The subcarrier spacing may be optimized accordingly to maintain similar CP overhead. NR may support one or more subcarrier spacing values. Correspondingly, subcarrier spacings of 15 kHz, 30 kHz, 60 kHz, etc. are currently considered. The symbol length Tu and subcarrier spacing Δf are directly related by the formula Δf = 1 / Tu. Similar to LTE systems, the term "resource element" can be used to mean the smallest resource unit consisting of one subcarrier for the length of one OFDM / SC-FDMA symbol.

[0175] In the new radio system 5G-NR, for each numerology and each carrier, a resource grid of subcarriers and OFDM symbols is defined for each uplink and downlink. Each element of the resource grid is called a resource element and is specified based on a frequency index in the frequency domain and a symbol position in the time domain (see 3GPP TS 38.211 v15.6.0).

[0176] <Functional Separation Between NG-RAN and 5GC in 5G NR> Figure 7 shows the functional separation between NG-RAN and 5GC. The logical node of NG-RAN is gNB or ng-eNB. 5GC has logical nodes AMF, UPF, and SMF.

[0177] For example, gNB and ng-eNB host the following main functions: - Radio Resource Management functions such as Radio Bearer Control, Radio Admission Control, Connection Mobility Control, dynamic allocation (scheduling) of resources to UEs in both uplink and downlink; - IP header compression, ciphering and integrity protection of data; - AMF selection at UE attach time if routing to the AMF cannot be determined from the information provided by the UE; - Routing of user plane data towards the UPF; - Routing of control plane information towards the AMF; - Connection setup and release; - Scheduling and transmission of paging messages; - Scheduling and transmission of system broadcast information (sourced from the AMF or Operation, Admission, Maintenance (OAM)); - Configuration of measurements and measurement reports for mobility and scheduling; - Transport level packet marking in the uplink; - Session management; Support for network slicing; - QoS flow management and mapping to data radio bearers; - Support for UEs in RRC_INACTIVE state; - NAS message delivery function; - Radio access network sharing; - Dual connectivity; - Close coordination between NR and E-UTRA.

[0178] The Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) hosts the following main functions: - Termination of Non-Access Stratum (NAS) signaling; - Security of NAS signaling; - Security control of Access Stratum (AS); - Signaling between Core Network (CN) nodes for mobility between 3GPP access networks; - Reachability to idle mode UEs (including control and execution of paging retransmissions); - Registration area management; - Support for intra-system and inter-system mobility; - Access authentication; - Access authorization including checking of roaming rights; - Mobility management control (subscription and policy); - Support for network slicing; - Selection of Session Management Function (SMF).

[0179] Furthermore, the User Plane Function (UPF) hosts the following main functions: - anchor point for intra-RAT / inter-RAT mobility (if applicable); - external PDU (Protocol Data Unit) session point for interconnection with data networks; - packet routing and forwarding; - packet inspection and policy rule enforcement for the user plane part; - traffic usage reporting; - uplink classifier to support routing of traffic flows to the data network; - branching point to support multi-homed PDU sessions; - QoS processing for the user plane (e.g. packet filtering, gating, UL / DL rate enforcement); - uplink traffic validation (mapping of SDF to QoS flows); - downlink packet buffering and triggering of downlink data notifications.

[0180] Finally, the Session Management Function (SMF) hosts the following main functions: session management; allocation and management of IP addresses for UEs; selection and control of UPF; configuration of traffic steering in the User Plane Function (UPF) to route traffic to the appropriate destination; policy enforcement and QoS of the control part; downlink data notification.

[0181] <RRC connection setup and reconfiguration procedure> Figure 8 shows some of the interactions between the UE, gNB, and AMF (5GC entities) when the UE transitions from RRC_IDLE to RRC_CONNECTED in the NAS part (see TS 38.300 v15.6.0).

[0182] RRC is a higher layer signaling (protocol) used to configure the UE and gNB. With this transition, the AMF prepares UE context data (including, for example, PDU session context, security keys, UE radio capabilities, UE security capabilities, etc.) and sends it to the gNB along with an INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST. The gNB then activates AS security together with the UE. This is done by the gNB sending a SecurityModeCommand message to the UE, and the UE responding with a SecurityModeComplete message to the gNB. The gNB then sends an RRCReconfiguration message to the UE, and upon receiving an RRCReconfigurationComplete from the UE, the gNB performs reconfiguration to set up Signaling Radio Bearer 2 (SRB2) and Data Radio Bearer (DRB). For signaling-only connections, the steps related to RRCReconfiguration are omitted because SRB2 and DRB are not set up. Finally, the gNB notifies the AMF that the setup procedure is complete with an INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE.

[0183] Accordingly, the present disclosure provides a 5th Generation Core (5GC) entity (e.g., AMF, SMF, etc.) that includes: a control circuit that, upon operation, establishes a Next Generation (NG) connection with a gNodeB; and a transmitter that, upon operation, transmits an initial context setup message to the gNodeB via the NG connection so that a signaling radio bearer between the gNodeB and a user equipment (UE) is set up. Specifically, the gNodeB transmits Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, including a resource allocation configuration information element (IE), to the UE via the signaling radio bearer. The UE then transmits in uplink or receives in downlink based on the resource allocation configuration.

[0184] <IMT Usage Scenarios Beyond 2020> Figure 9 shows some use cases for 5G NR. The 3rd Generation Partnership Project New Radio (3GPP NR) is considering three use cases envisioned by IMT-2020 to support a wide variety of services and applications. The first phase of specifications for enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) has been completed. Current and future work includes standardization for ultra-reliable and low-latency communications (URLLC) and massive machine-type communications (mMTC), in addition to expanding support for eMBB. Figure 9 shows some examples of envisioned usage scenarios for IMT beyond 2020 (see, for example, ITU-R M.2083 Figure 2).

[0185] The URLLC use case has stringent performance requirements for throughput, latency, and availability. It is envisioned as one of the enabling technologies for future applications such as wireless control of industrial production or manufacturing processes, remote medical surgery, automated power transmission and distribution in smart grids, and road safety. URLLC's ultra-high reliability is supported by identifying technologies that meet the requirements set by TR 38.913. Key requirements for NR URLLC in Release 15 include a target user plane latency of 0.5 ms on the uplink (UL) and 0.5 ms on the downlink (DL). The overall URLLC requirement for a single packet transmission is a block error rate (BLER) of 1E-5 for a 32-byte packet size with a user plane latency of 1 ms.

[0186] From a physical layer perspective, reliability can be improved in many possible ways. Current room for reliability improvement includes defining a separate CQI table for URLLC, more compact DCI formats, PDCCH repetition, etc. However, this room can be expanded to achieve ultra-high reliability as NR (with respect to the key requirements of NR URLLC) becomes more stable and developed. Specific use cases for NR URLLC in Release 15 include Augmented Reality / Virtual Reality (AR / VR), e-health, e-safety, and mission-critical applications.

[0187] Additionally, the technology enhancements targeted by NR URLLC aim to improve latency and reliability. Technology enhancements for latency improvement include configurable numerology, non-slot-based scheduling with flexible mapping, grant-free (configured grant) uplink, slot-level repetition in the data channel, and preemption in the downlink. Preemption means that a transmission with already allocated resources is stopped and the already allocated resources are used for another transmission with a later requested lower latency / higher priority. Therefore, a previously allowed transmission is preempted by a later transmission. Preemption is applicable regardless of the specific service type. For example, a transmission of service type A (URLLC) may be preempted by a transmission of service type B (eMBB, etc.). Technology enhancements for reliability improvement include a dedicated CQI / MCS table for a target BLER of 1E-5.

[0188] The use case of mMTC (massive machine type communication) is characterized by a very large number of connected devices that typically transmit relatively small amounts of data that are not sensitive to delays. These devices are required to be low-cost and have very long battery life. From the NR perspective, utilizing very narrow bandwidth portions is one solution that saves power and extends battery life from the UE's perspective.

[0189] As mentioned above, the scope of reliability improvement in NR is expected to be broader. One of the key requirements for all cases, for example, URLLC and mMTC, is high or ultra-high reliability. Several mechanisms can improve reliability from a radio perspective and a network perspective. Generally, there are two to three key areas that can help improve reliability. These areas include compact control channel information, repetition of data channels / control channels, and diversity in the frequency, time, and / or spatial domains. These areas are generally applicable to reliability improvement regardless of the specific communication scenario.

[0190] For NR URLLC, further use cases with more stringent requirements are envisaged, such as factory automation, transportation, and power distribution, with high reliability (up to 10-6 level reliability), high availability, packet size up to 256 bytes, time synchronization down to a few μs (depending on the use case, the value can be 1 μs or a few μs depending on the frequency range and low latency in the order of 0.5 ms to 1 ms (e.g., 0.5 ms latency on the targeted user plane)).

[0191] Furthermore, for NR URLLC, there may be several technical enhancements from the physical layer perspective. These technical enhancements include PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel) enhancements for compact DCI, PDCCH repetition, and increased PDCCH monitoring. Also, UCI (Uplink Control Information) enhancements relate to enhanced Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) and CSI feedback enhancements. There may also be PUSCH enhancements related to minislot-level hopping and retransmission / repetition enhancements. The term "minislot" refers to a Transmission Time Interval (TTI) that contains fewer symbols than a slot (a slot comprises 14 symbols).

[0192] <QoS Control> The 5G Quality of Service (QoS) model is based on QoS flows and supports both QoS flows that require a guaranteed flow bit rate (Guaranteed Bit Rate QoS flows (GBR)) and QoS flows that do not require a guaranteed flow bit rate (non-GBR QoS flows). Thus, at the NAS level, a QoS flow is the finest granularity of QoS classification in a PDU session. A QoS flow is identified within a PDU session by a QoS Flow ID (QFI) carried in an encapsulation header over the NG-U interface.

[0193] For each UE, 5GC establishes one or more PDU sessions. For each UE, the NG-RAN establishes at least one Data Radio Bearer (DRB) for each PDU session, e.g., as shown above with reference to FIG. 8. Additional DRBs for the QoS flows of that PDU session can be configured later (when this is up to the NG-RAN). The NG-RAN maps packets belonging to different PDU sessions to different DRBs. NAS-level packet filters in the UE and 5GC associate UL and DL packets with QoS flows, while AS-level mapping rules in the UE and NG-RAN associate UL and DL QoS flows with DRBs.

[0194] Figure 10 shows the non-roaming reference architecture for 5G NR (see TS 23.501 v16.1.0, section 4.23). An Application Function (AF) (e.g., an external application server hosting 5G services, as illustrated in Figure 9) interacts with the 3GPP core network to provide services. For example, it may access a Network Exposure Function (NEF) to support applications that affect traffic routing, or interact with a policy framework for policy control (e.g., QoS control) (see Policy Control Function (PCF)). Based on operator deployment, Application Functions considered trusted by the operator can interact directly with the associated Network Functions. Application Functions not authorized by the operator to directly access Network Functions interact with the associated Network Functions using an external exposure framework via the NEF.

[0195] Figure 10 further illustrates further functional units of the 5G architecture, namely, Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF), Network Repository Function (NRF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), and Data Network (DN, e.g., operator-provided services, Internet access, or third-party services). All or part of the core network functions and application services may be deployed and run in a cloud computing environment.

[0196] Therefore, the present disclosure provides an application server (e.g., an AF in a 5G architecture) comprising: a transmitter that, in operation, sends a request including QoS requirements for at least one of a URLLC service, an eMMB service, and an mMTC service to at least one of 5GC functions (e.g., an NEF, an AMF, an SMF, a PCF, an UPF, etc.) to establish a PDU session including a radio bearer between a gNodeB and a UE according to the QoS requirements; and a control circuit that, in operation, performs a service using the established PDU session.

[0197] Furthermore, the notation "... section" in the above-described embodiments may be replaced with other notations such as "... circuitry," "... device," "... unit," or "... module."

[0198] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiments, the values ​​of parameters such as the number of RBs, frequency bandwidth, and SCS are merely examples and other values ​​may be used.

[0199] The present disclosure can be realized by software, hardware, or software integrated with hardware. Each functional block described in the above embodiments may be partially or entirely realized as an LSI, which is an integrated circuit. Each process described in the above embodiments may be partially or entirely controlled by a single LSI or a combination of LSIs. The LSI may be composed of individual chips, or may be composed of a single chip that includes some or all of the functional blocks. The LSI may have data inputs and outputs. Depending on the level of integration, an LSI may be referred to as an IC, system LSI, super LSI, or ultra LSI. The integrated circuit implementation is not limited to LSIs, and may be realized using dedicated circuits, general-purpose processors, or dedicated processors. Furthermore, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), which can be programmed after LSI fabrication, or a reconfigurable processor, which allows the connections and settings of circuit cells within an LSI to be reconfigured, may also be used. The present disclosure may be realized as digital or analog processing. Furthermore, if an integrated circuit technology that can replace LSI emerges due to advances in semiconductor technology or other derivative technologies, it is natural that such technology may be used to integrate functional blocks. The application of biotechnology, etc. is also a possibility.

[0200] The present disclosure may be implemented in any type of apparatus, device, or system (collectively referred to as a communications apparatus) that has a communications function. The communications apparatus may include a radio transceiver and processing / control circuitry. The radio transceiver may include a receiver and a transmitter, or both functions. The radio transceiver (transmitter and receiver) may include a radio frequency (RF) module and one or more antennas. The RF module may include an amplifier, an RF modulator / demodulator, or the like. Non-limiting examples of communication devices include telephones (e.g., cell phones, smartphones), tablets, personal computers (PCs) (e.g., laptops, desktops, notebooks), cameras (e.g., digital still / video cameras), digital players (e.g., digital audio / video players), wearable devices (e.g., wearable cameras, smartwatches, tracking devices), game consoles, digital book readers, telehealth / telemedicine devices, communication-enabled vehicles or mobile transportation (e.g., cars, airplanes, ships), and combinations of the above devices.

[0201] The communication devices are not limited to portable or mobile devices, but also include any kind of non-portable or fixed equipment, devices, and systems, such as smart home devices (such as home appliances, lighting equipment, smart meters or measuring devices, control panels, etc.), vending machines, and any other "things" that may exist on an IoT (Internet of Things) network.

[0202] Communications include data communications via cellular systems, wireless LAN systems, communication satellite systems, and the like, as well as data communications via combinations of these.

[0203] A communications apparatus also includes devices such as controllers and sensors connected or coupled to a communications device that performs the communications functions described in this disclosure, such as controllers and sensors that generate control and data signals used by the communications device to perform the communications functions of the communications apparatus.

[0204] The communication apparatus also includes infrastructure facilities, such as base stations, access points, and any other apparatus, device, or system that communicates with or controls the various apparatuses listed above, but are not limited to these.

[0205] A terminal according to a non-limiting example of the present disclosure includes a control circuit that identifies a second resource having a frequency allocation size different from a frequency allocation size of a first resource scheduled by a control signal, and a communication circuit that receives or transmits a signal using the second resource.

[0206] In a non-limiting example of the present disclosure, the number of resource blocks corresponding to the second resource is less than the number of resource blocks corresponding to the first resource.

[0207] In a non-limiting example of the present disclosure, a frequency bandwidth corresponding to the second resource is narrower than a frequency bandwidth corresponding to the first resource.

[0208] In a non-limiting example of the present disclosure, the first resource and the second resource are used for broadcast, groupcast, or multicast.

[0209] In a non-limiting example of the present disclosure, if the frequency allocation size of the first resource is larger than a frequency size based on information about the terminal, the communication circuit receives or transmits the signal using the second resource.

[0210] In a non-limiting example of the present disclosure, the control circuit identifies the second resource based on information about the first resource.

[0211] In a non-limiting example of the present disclosure, the control circuitry identifies the second resource based on the capabilities of the terminal.

[0212] In a non-limiting example of the present disclosure, the control circuit identifies the second resource based on information about a bandwidth part (BWP) configured in the terminal.

[0213] A base station according to a non-limiting example of the present disclosure includes a control circuit that determines a first resource scheduled by a control signal and a second resource having a frequency allocation size different from the frequency allocation size of the first resource, and a communication circuit that transmits or receives a signal using the second resource.

[0214] In a communication method according to a non-limiting example of the present disclosure, a terminal identifies a second resource having a frequency allocation size different from the frequency allocation size of a first resource scheduled by a control signal, and receives or transmits a signal using the second resource.

[0215] In a communication method according to a non-limiting example of the present disclosure, a base station determines a first resource to be scheduled by a control signal and a second resource having a frequency allocation size different from the frequency allocation size of the first resource, and transmits or receives a signal using the second resource.

[0216] The disclosures of the specification, drawings and abstract contained in Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-121612, filed on July 29, 2022, are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

[0217] One embodiment of the present disclosure is useful in wireless communication systems.

[0218] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 Base station 101, 206 Control unit 102 DCI generation unit 103 Upper layer signal generation unit 104, 207 Coding and modulation unit 105, 208 Signal mapping unit 106, 209 Transmission unit 107, 201 Antenna 108, 202 Reception unit 109 Signal separation unit 110, 205 Demodulation and decoding unit 200 Terminal 203 Signal separation unit 204 DCI detection unit

Claims

1. a control circuit for identifying a second resource having a frequency allocation size different from a frequency allocation size of the first resource scheduled by the control signal; a communication circuit for receiving or transmitting a signal using the second resource; A terminal comprising:

2. the number of resource blocks corresponding to the second resource is smaller than the number of resource blocks corresponding to the first resource; The terminal according to claim 1.

3. a frequency bandwidth corresponding to the second resource is narrower than a frequency bandwidth corresponding to the first resource; The terminal according to claim 1.

4. The first resource and the second resource are used for broadcast, groupcast, or multicast. The terminal according to claim 1.

5. When the frequency allocation size of the first resource is larger than a frequency size based on information about the terminal, the communication circuit receives or transmits the signal using the second resource. The terminal according to claim 1.

6. the control circuit identifies the second resource based on information about the first resource. The terminal according to claim 1.

7. The control circuit identifies the second resource based on a capability of the terminal. The terminal according to claim 1.

8. The control circuit identifies the second resource based on information regarding a bandwidth part (BWP) set in the terminal. The terminal according to claim 1.

9. a control circuit for determining a first resource scheduled by a control signal and a second resource having a frequency allocation size different from the frequency allocation size of the first resource; a communication circuit for transmitting or receiving a signal using the second resource; A base station comprising:

10. The terminal is Identifying a second resource having a frequency allocation size different from a frequency allocation size of the first resource scheduled by the control signal; receiving or transmitting a signal using the second resource; Communication methods.

11. The base station is determining a first resource scheduled by a control signal and a second resource having a frequency allocation size different from a frequency allocation size of the first resource; Transmitting or receiving a signal using the second resource. Communication methods.

12. An integrated circuit for controlling processing of a terminal, the processing comprising: identifying a second resource having a frequency allocation size different from a frequency allocation size of the first resource scheduled by the control signal; receiving or transmitting a signal using the second resource; 4. An integrated circuit comprising:

13. An integrated circuit for controlling processing of a base station, the processing comprising: determining a first resource scheduled by a control signal and a second resource having a frequency allocation size different from the frequency allocation size of the first resource; transmitting or receiving a signal using the second resource; 4. An integrated circuit comprising: