Code timing alignment for uplink transmission including orthogonal cover codes

Abstract

A method is provided that includes receiving an orthogonal cover code timing configuration for uplink transmissions of a user equipment. The method includes determining an alignment of an orthogonal cover code for an uplink transmission based on the orthogonal cover code timing configuration. And The method includes transmitting the uplink transmission to which the orthogonal cover code is applied based on the alignment.

Description

CODE TIMING ALIGNMENT FOR UPLINK TRANSMISSION INCLUDING ORTHOGONAL COVER CODES TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to telecommunications and, in particular, touplink transmissions of a user equipment in a repetition mode in which repetitions are transmitted using redundancy version values. BACKGROUND

[0002] A telecommunications system can be seen as a facility that enables communicationsessions between two or more entities such as user terminals, base stations and / or other nodes by providing carriers between the various entities involved in the communications path. A telecommunications system can be provided for example by means of a communication network and one or more compatible communication devices. The communication sessions may comprise, for example, communication of data for carrying communications such as voice, video, electronic mail (email), text message, multimedia and / or content data and so on. Non- limiting examples of services provided comprise two-way or multi-way calls, data communication or multimedia services and access to a data network system, such as the Internet.

[0003] In a wireless telecommunications system at least a part of a communication sessionbetween at least two stations occurs over a wireless link. Examples of wireless systems comprise public land mobile networks (PLMN), satellite based communication systems and different wireless local networks, for example wireless local area networks (WLAN). Some wireless systems can be divided into cells, and are therefore often referred to as cellular systems.

[0004] A user can access the telecommunications system by means of an appropriatecommunication device or terminal. A communication device of a user may be referred to as user equipment (UE) or user device. A communication device is provided with an appropriate signal receiving and transmitting apparatus for enabling communications, for example enabling access to a communication network or communications directly with other users. The communication device may access a carrier provided by a station, for example a base station of a cell, and transmit and / or receive communications on the carrier.

[0005] The telecommunications system and associated devices typically operate inaccordance with a given standard or specification which sets out what the various entities associated with the system are permitted to do and how that should be achieved. Communication protocols and / or parameters which shall be used for the connection are alsotypically defined. One example of a telecommunications system is the Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS). Other examples of telecommunications systems are Long-Term Evolution (LTE), LTE Advanced and the so-called 5G or New Radio (NR) networks. NR is being standardized by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). BRIEF SUMMARY

[0006] Example implementations of the present disclosure are generally directed totelecommunications and, in particular, uplink transmissions of a user equipment in a repetition mode in which repetitions are transmitted using redundancy version values. The present disclosure includes, without limitation, the following example implementations.

[0007] Some example implementations provide an apparatus comprising: at leastone memory configured to store instructions; and at least one processing circuitry configured to access the at least one memory, and execute the instructions to cause the apparatus to at least: receive an orthogonal cover code timing configuration for uplink transmissions; determine an alignment of an orthogonal cover code for an uplink transmission based on the orthogonal cover code timing configuration; and transmit the uplink transmission to which the orthogonal cover code is applied based on the alignment.

[0008] Some example implementations provide an apparatus comprising: means forreceiving an orthogonal cover code timing configuration for uplink transmissions; means for determining an alignment of an orthogonal cover code for an uplink transmission based on the orthogonal cover code timing configuration; and means for transmitting the uplink transmission to which the orthogonal cover code is applied based on the alignment.

[0009] Some example implementations provide a method comprising: receiving anorthogonal cover code timing configuration for uplink transmissions; determining an alignment of an orthogonal cover code for an uplink transmission based on the orthogonal cover code timing configuration; and transmitting the uplink transmission to which the orthogonal cover code is applied based on the alignment.

[0010] Some example implementations provide a computer-readable storagemedium that is non-transitory and has instructions stored therein that, in response to execution by at least one processing circuitry, causes an apparatus to at least: receive an orthogonal cover code timing configuration for uplink transmissions; determine an alignment of an orthogonal cover code for an uplink transmission based on the orthogonal cover code timing configuration; and transmit the uplink transmission to which the orthogonal cover code is applied based on the alignment.

[0011] Some example implementations provide an apparatus comprising: at leastone memory configured to store instructions; and at least one processing circuitry configured to access the at least one memory, and execute the instructions to cause the apparatus to at least: send an orthogonal cover code timing configuration to a user equipment for uplink transmissions; receive an uplink transmission of the user equipment to which an orthogonal cover code is applied based on an alignment of the orthogonal cover code determined at the user equipment based on the orthogonal cover code timing configuration; and decode the uplink transmission based on the orthogonal cover code.

[0012] Some example implementations provide an apparatus comprising: means forsending an orthogonal cover code timing configuration to an user equipment for uplink transmissions; means for receiving an uplink transmission of the user equipment to which an orthogonal cover code is applied based on an alignment of the orthogonal cover code determined at the user equipment based on the orthogonal cover code timing configuration; and means for decoding the uplink transmission based on the orthogonal cover code.

[0013] Some example implementations provide a method comprising: sending anorthogonal cover code timing configuration to a user equipment for uplink transmissions; receiving an uplink transmission of the user equipment to which an orthogonal cover code is applied based on an alignment of the orthogonal cover code determined at the user equipment based on the orthogonal cover code timing configuration; and decoding the uplink transmission based on the orthogonal cover code.

[0014] Some example implementations provide a computer-readable storagemedium that is non-transitory and has instructions stored therein that, in response to execution by at least one processing circuitry, causes an apparatus to at least: send anorthogonal cover code timing configuration to a user equipment for uplink transmissions; receive an uplink transmission of the user equipment to which an orthogonal cover code is applied based on an alignment of the orthogonal cover code determined at the user equipment based on the orthogonal cover code timing configuration; and decode the uplink transmission based on the orthogonal cover code.

[0015] These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure will beapparent from a reading of the following detailed description together with the accompanyingfigures, which are briefly described below. The present disclosure includes any combination oftwo, three, four or more features or elements set forth in this disclosure, regardless of whether such features or elements are expressly combined or otherwise recited in a specific example implementation described herein. This disclosure is intended to be read holistically such that any separable features or elements of the disclosure, in any of its aspects and exampleimplementations, should be viewed as combinable unless the context of the disclosure clearlydictates otherwise.

[0016] It will therefore be appreciated that this Brief Summary is provided merely forpurposes of summarizing some example implementations so as to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosure. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the above described example implementations are merely examples and should not be construed to narrow the scope or spirit of the disclosure in any way. Other example implementations, aspects and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of some described example implementations. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURE(S)

[0017] Having thus described example implementations of the disclosure in general terms,reference will now be made to the accompanying figures, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

[0018] FIG. 1 illustrates a telecommunications system that includes one or more publicland mobile networks (PLMNs) coupled to one or more external data networks, according to some example implementations of the present disclosure;

[0019] FIG. 2 illustrates a deployment of a PLMN, according to some exampleimplementations;

[0020] FIG. 3 illustrates an example of an orthogonal cover code (OCC) of length two fortwo user equipments transmitting two physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) repetitions in the same time-frequency resources, according to some example implementations;

[0021] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of PUSCH repetition type A with K = 4 repetitions,according to some example implementations;

[0022] FIG. 5 is a signaling chart of orthogonal cover code (OCC) timing configurationand uplink transmissions to which the OCC timing configuration is applied, according to some example implementations;

[0023] FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate uplink transmissions using alignment of applied OCC tosystem-defined OCC timing, according to various example implementations;

[0024] FIGS. 8A, 8B, 8C and 8D are flowcharts illustrating various steps in a methodaccording to various example implementations;

[0025] FIGS. 9A and 9B are flowcharts illustrating various steps in a method according tovarious example implementations;; and

[0026] FIG. 10 illustrates an apparatus according to some example implementations.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] Some implementations of the present disclosure will now be described more fullyhereinafter with reference to the accompanying figures, in which some, but not all implementations of the disclosure are shown. Indeed, various implementations of the disclosuremay be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to theimplementations set forth herein; rather, these example implementations are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

[0028] Unless specified otherwise or clear from context, references to first, second or thelike should not be construed to imply a particular order. A feature described as being aboveanother feature (unless specified otherwise or clear from context) may instead be below, andvice versa; and similarly, features described as being to the left of another feature else may instead be to the right, and vice versa. Also, while reference may be made herein to quantitative measures, values, geometric relationships or the like, unless otherwise stated, any one or more if not all of these may be absolute or approximate to account for acceptable variations that may occur, such as those due to engineering tolerances or the like.

[0029] As used herein, unless specified otherwise or clear from context, the “or” of a set ofoperands is the “inclusive or” and thereby true if and only if one or more of the operands is true, as opposed to the “exclusive or” which is false when all of the operands are true. Thus, for example, “[A] or [B]” is true if [A] is true, or if [B] is true, or if both [A] and [B] are true. Further, the articles “a” and “an” mean “one or more,” unless specified otherwise or clear from context to be directed to a singular form. Furthermore, it should be understood that unless otherwise specified, the terms “data,” “content,” “digital content,” “information,” and similarterms may be at times used interchangeably. The term “network” may refer to a group of interconnected computers including clients and servers; and within a network, these computersmay be interconnected directly or indirectly by various means including via one or moreswitches, routers, gateways, access points or the like.

[0030] Reference may be made herein to terms specific to a particular system, architectureor the like, but it should be understood that example implementations of the present disclosure may be equally applicable to any of a number of systems, architectures and the like. For example, reference may be made to 3GPP technologies such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), UMTS, LTE, LTE Advanced, 5G NR, 5G Advanced and 6G; however, it should be understood that example implementations of the present disclosure may be equally applicable to non-3GPP technologies such as IEEE 802, Bluetooth and Bluetooth Low Energy.

[0031] Further, as used in this application, the term “circuitry” may refer to one or more orall of the following: (a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and / or digital circuitry); (b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable): (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuit(s) with software / firmware and (ii) any portions of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s)), software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions); or (c) hardware circuit(s) and / or processor(s), such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation.

[0032] The above definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application,including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or asimilar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other computing or networkdevice.

[0033] FIG. 1 illustrates a telecommunications system 100 according to various exampleimplementations of the present disclosure. The telecommunications system generally includes one or more telecommunications networks. As shown, for example, the system includes one ormore public land mobile networks (PLMNs) 102 coupled to one or more other external datanetworks 104 – notably including a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet. Each of thePLMNs includes a core network (CN) 106 backbone such as the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) ofLTE, the 5G core network (5GC) or the like; and each of the core networks and the Internet arecoupled to one or more radio access networks (RANs) 108, air interfaces or the like thatimplement one or more radio access technologies (RATs). As used herein, a “network device” refers to any suitable device at a network side of a telecommunications network. Examples ofsuitable network devices are described in greater detail below.

[0034] In addition, the system includes one or more radio units that may be varyinglyknown as user equipment (UE) 110, terminal device, terminal equipment, mobile station or thelike. The UE is generally a device configured to communicate with a network device or a further UE in a telecommunication network. The UE may be a portable computer (e.g., laptop, notebook, tablet computer), mobile phone (e.g., cell phone, smartphone), wearable computer(e.g., smartwatch), or the like. In other examples, the UE may be an Internet of things (IoT)device, an industrial IoT (IIoT device), a vehicle equipped with a vehicle-to-everything (V2X)communication technology, or the like. In operation, these UEs may be configured to connect toone or more of the RANs 108 according to their particular radio access technologies to therebyaccess a particular CN 106 of a PLMN 102, or to access one or more of the external datanetworks 104 (e.g., the Internet). The external data network may be configured to provideInternet access, operator services, 3rd party services, etc. For example, the InternationalTelecommunication Union (ITU) has classified 5G mobile network services into threecategories: enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable and low-latency communications (URLLC), and massive machine type communications (mMTC) or massive internet of things (MIoT).

[0035] Examples of radio access technologies include 3GPP radio access technologies suchas GSM, UMTS, LTE, LTE Advanced, 5G NR, 5G Advanced, and 6G. Other examples of radio access technologies include IEEE 802 technologies such as IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.15 (including 802.15.1 (WPAN / Bluetooth), 802.15.4 (Zigbee) and 802.15.6 (WBAN)), Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), ultra wideband (UWB), and the like. Generally, a radio access technology may refer to any 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, 6G or higher generation mobile communication technology and their different versions, as well as to any other wireless radio access technology that may be arranged to interwork with such a mobile communication technology to provideaccess to the CN 106 of a mobile network operator (MNO).

[0036] In various example, a RAN 108 may be configured as one or more macrocells,microcells, picocells, femtocells or the like. The RAN may generally include one or more radioaccess nodes that are configured to interact with UEs 110. In various examples, a radio accessnode may be referred to as a base station (BS), access point (AP), base transceiver station (BTS), Node B (NB), evolved NB (eNB), macro BS, NB (MNB) or eNB (MeNB), home BS, NB (HNB) or eNB (HeNB), next generation NB (gNB), enhanced gNB (en-gNB), next generation eNB (ng-eNB), or the like. Some type of network controlling / governing entityresponsible for control of the radio access nodes. The network controlling / governing entity and radio access node may be separate or integrated into a single apparatus. The network controlling / governing entity may include processing circuity configured to carry out various management functions, etc. The processing circuity may be associated with a computer-readable storage medium or database for maintaining information required in the management functions.

[0037] A RAN 108 may be centralized or distributed. In various examples, components ofa RAN may be interconnected by Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), optical fiber, dark fiber, passive wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), WDM passive optical network (WDM-PON), optical transport network (OTN), time sensitive networking (TSN) and / or any other data link layer network, possibly including radio links. TheRAN may be connected to a CN 106 through one or more gateways, network functions or thelike.

[0038] As will be appreciated, a PLMN 102 may be deployed in a number of differentmanners. FIG. 2 illustrates a deployment 200 of a PLMN, such as a 4G LTE or 5G deployment,according to some example implementations. As shown, the deployment includes a CN 106, andRAN 108 with one or more radio access nodes 202 configured to interact with UEs 110. In a 4GLTE deployment, the EPC is the CN, and the evolved UMTS terrestrial radio access network (E- UTRAN) is the RAN; and the E-UTRAN includes one or more eNBs (radio access nodes) configured connect UEs to the E-UTRAN to thereby access the EPC. Similarly, in a 5G deployment, the 5GC is the CN 106, and the next generation (NG) radio access network (NG- RAN) is the RAN 108; and the NG-RAN includes one or more gNBs (radio access nodes 202)configured connect UEs 110 to the NG-RAN to thereby access the 5GC. The term ‘gNB’ in 5Gmay correspond to the eNB in 4G LTE.

[0039] Some deployments of 4G LTE and 5G in particular are considered standalone (SA)deployments. Other deployments combine 4G LTE and 5G technologies, and are referred to as non-standalone (NSA) deployments. In some deployments, the E-UTRAN includes one or more ng-eNBs that are configured to communicate with the 5GC, and that may also be configured to communicate with one or more gNBs. Similarly, in another deployment, the NG-RAN may include one or more en-gNBs that are configured to communicate with the EPC, and that may also be configured to communicate with one or more eNBs. In various instances, a single UE 110, a dual-mode or multimode UE, may support multiple (two or more) RANs—thereby being configured to connect to multiple RANs, such as 4G LTE and 5G.

[0040] In some deployments, operations of a radio access node 202 may be distributed orfunctionally split into components including one or more remote radio head (RRHs) or radio units (RUs), and a baseband unit (BBU); and in some architectures, the BBU may be split into a distributed unit (DU) and a central / centralized unit (CU), such as a server, host or node. In somearchitectures, the RRH / RU and DU may be collocated. It is also possible that node operations may be distributed among a plurality of servers, hosts or nodes.

[0041] It should also be understood that the distribution of work between CN 106operations and radio access node 202 operations may vary depending on implementation. Thus,a 5G network architecture may be based on a so-called CU-DU split. One gNB-CU (central node) may control one or more gNB-DUs. The gNB-CU may control a plurality of spatially separated gNB-DUs, acting at least as transmit / receive (Tx / Rx) nodes. In some example implementations, however, the gNB-DUs (also called DU) may include, for example, a radio link control (RLC), medium access control (MAC) layer and a physical (PHY) layer, whereas the gNB-CU (also called a CU) may include the layers above the RLC layer, such as a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio resource control (RRC), and an internet protocol (IP) layer. Other functional splits are also possible. It is considered that skilled person is familiar with the OSI model and the functionalities within each layer.

[0042] In some example implementations, the server or CU may generate a virtual networkthrough which the server communicates with the radio node. In general, virtual networking may involve a process of combining hardware and software network resources and network functionality into a single, software-based administrative entity, a virtual network. Such virtualnetwork may provide flexible distribution of operations between the server and the radiohead / node. In practice, any digital signal processing task may be performed in either the CU or the DU, and the boundary where the responsibility is shifted between the CU and the DU may be selected according to implementation.

[0043] Networks including 5G provide a very flexible and comprehensive air interface,which allows for adaptation to a lot of different deployment scenarios. More recent enhancements provide support for non-terrestrial networks (NTNs). In an NTN system, radio access node (e.g., gNB) or radio access node functionality may be deployed onboard satellites or other aerospace platforms in a regenerative deployment (or architecture), or relayed by radio access nodes in a transparent deployment. The NTN may therefore provide communication coverage over a very large area that may be otherwise unreachable by a terrestrial radio access network alone. Such functionality can be used to globally connect IoT devices, as well as provide personal communication in remote areas and in disaster relief.

[0044] More recent work has been devoted to uplink (UL) capacity / throughputenhancements in NTN systems. This work includes enhancements to the Discrete Fourier Transform-Spread-Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (DFT-s-OFDM) physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) channel via orthogonal cover codes (OCCs) to enablemultiplexing of multiple UEs 110 in the same time-frequency resources. This may includeOCCs across OFDM symbols, across slots, and / or within an OFDM symbol. As explained ingreater detail below, some example implementations of the present disclosure specifically focus on the OCC application across intra-slot or inter-slot repetitions, i.e., across OFDM symbols and across slots.

[0045] As is known, OCC is a coding technique that can be used to enhance the capacity / throughput of a cellular system. In particular, a set of orthogonal codes (e.g. Walsh-Hadamard codes) may be generated having ideal zero cross-correlation, and different codes assigned todifferent UEs 110 to achieve orthogonal (i.e., no interference) uplink transmissions on the sametime-frequency resources.

[0046] FIG. 3 illustrates an example of an orthogonal cover code (OCC) of length two fortwo UEs 110 transmitting two PUSCH repetitions in the same time-frequency resources,according to some example implementations. For the transmissions, the two UEs apply different OCCs to their transmission signal (which in the illustrated example is assumed constant acrossthe repetitions) allowing a radio access node 202 to receive, demodulate and decode the signalsof each UE without the interference of the other UE.

[0047] The process by which the radio access node 202 may receive, demodulate anddecode the signals in first and second PUSCH repetitions may be more notationally represented as follows (without channel impairments and additive noise for simplicity of description):In equation (1), x1 and x2 represent the signals transmitted by respective ones of a first UE (UE1) and a second UE (UE2) in both PUSCH repetitions, and y1 and y2 represent the totalsignals received by the radio access node 202 in respective ones of the first and second PUSCHrepetitions. It is also assumed in this example that UE1 applies the OCC [1, 1], and UE2 applies the OCC [1, -1]. As illustrated, then, the radio access node may cross-correlate y1 and y2 with the OCC used by UE1 (i.e., [1, 1]) to retrieve the signal from UE1 without interference from UE2. Similarly, the radio access node may cross-correlate y1 and y2 with the OCC used by UE2 (i.e., [1, -1]) to retrieve the signal from UE2 without interference from UE1. This latter is further illustrated in equation (1).

[0048] The example above is only illustrative and uses Walsh-Hadamard orthogonal codesas OCC set. Example implementations of the present disclosure may also be equally applicable to use of different sequences to realize orthogonality among UEs 110. In addition, it is to benoted that, in general, a number of at least N PUSCH (or signal) repetitions may be used inorder to multiplex N UEs.

[0049] In some deployments, such as deployment 200, a transport block (TB) may betransmitted per slot. That is, a resource allocation for a single PUSCH transmission may be limited within a slot. In 3GPP, however, a feature referred to as PUSCH repetition type A (alsoknown as PUSCH aggregation) allows repeating the transmission of a TB within a slot multiple times across K slots. FIG.4 illustrates an example of PUSCH repetition type A with K = 4repetitions, according to some example implementations. As shown, a PUSCH transmission 402may include K = 4 PUSCH repetitions across four consecutive slots.

[0050] The transport block size (TBS) of PUSCH repetition type A may be determinedbased on the resource within a slot. For the PUSCH resource in each slot of the K slots, the same starting symbol (S) and length (L) may be applied. The K slots may be counted on consecutive physical slots (including downlink or special slots). In various examples, K may be RRC configured or dynamically indicated. In some examples, K may be counted on available slots. In some of these examples, the only slots counted are those that are available (no collision with downlink or synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (SSB) symbols) and valid (in terms of starting symbol and length) for PUSCH transmission.

[0051] As also shown in FIG. 4, redundancy version (RV) can be cycled across the K slotsfollowing a RV sequence. The illustrated example is of a resource allocation and bit selectionfrom a circular buffer 404 for PUSCH repetition type A with RV cycling and RV sequence

[0231] . From the illustrated circular buffer, it may be seen that the bits transmitted in the repetitions are different, making the application of the OCC across PUSCH repetitions not currently possible.

[0052] In current 3GPP systems, the general structure of uplink scheduling is such that aUE 110 may be provided an indication of a scheduling grant via a DCI (downlink controlinformation) which is carried on the PDCCH (physical downlink control channel). Upon detecting a DCI with an uplink grant (DCI 0_0 or DCI 1_0), the UE may prepare an uplink transmission using information provided in the uplink grant. In this regard, the grant may include information on the frequency resources, time domain resources, modulation scheme, channel coding scheme, multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) configuration, etc. Normally, each uplink grant is “self-contained” and all corresponding uplink transmission actions occur in time relative to reception of the DCI carrying the grant for the uplink transmission (potentially adjusted with a scheduling offset which may either be pre-configured or provided also as part of the uplink grant).

[0053] With self-contained uplink transmissions, a UE 110 may in principle be unaware ofany other UE in the system (the uplink grant is UE specific, and one UE is not able to decode the DCI messages for other UE in the system, and the UE would not be aware of the C-RNTI (Cell-specific radio network temporary identifier) assigned to other UEs in the same cell (or even in other cells).

[0054] Now consider each UE 110 transmits its data with OCC applied to the transmission,and without coordination of the transmission timing (e.g., OFDM symbols and / or slots in whichPUSCH is transmitted). The UEs performing uplink transmissions in the same frequency resources may unintentionally create interference to each other, since the data transmissions might not have the same time-reference to establish the orthogonality of their OCCs. The impacts from lack of time synchronization may be that (a) the UEs have OCCs that do not startat the same time – and lose cross-device orthogonality, and (b) the UEs might not keep the dataused as input to the OCC operation constant (e.g., RV cycling across PUSCH repetitions), which may cause the interference to be non-constant, and thereby a loss in orthogonality that may be needed for the inverse OCC operation at the receiver side (e.g., radio access node 202).

[0055] Example implementations of the present disclosure therefore provide a solution inwhich a network-controlled “OCC timing” is introduced, and applied by any UE 110 thattransmits uplink transmission (e.g., PUSCH) to which an OCC is applied. This OCC timing may be generally applicable across an entire cell, and the UE may at any time use the OCC timing to align its OCC applied to the modulated symbols of an uplink transmission. The uplink transmission here may be considered a sequence of OFDM symbols, a sequence of DFT-s- OFDM symbols, a sequence of slots, or the like. In some examples, an uplink transmission may include repetitions of the sequence of OFDM symbols, sequence of DFT-s-OFDM symbols, sequence of slots, or the like. Operating in this way may enable all signals received in the uplinkat the radio access node 202 (e.g., gNB) to be covered by codes that are orthogonal to each otherand thereby reduce observed interference.

[0056] According to some example implementations, the network (e.g., radio access node202) provides a configuration of an OCC timing configuration, such as via system broadcastinformation (e.g., SIB) or UE-dedicated (e.g., RRC) messages. A UE 110 configured for uplinktransmission (e.g., PUSCH repetitions) may then align application of OCC to the uplink transmission (e.g., modulated symbols of the uplink transmission, repetitions of the modulated symbols) such that the code is synchronized to the OCC timing configuration. In various examples, the UE may be configured to start applying an OCC on repetitions of a PUSCH transmission only at the start of an OCC timing period; or the UE may apply a cyclic shift to the OCC, and apply the OCC as shifted based on boundaries of an OCC timing period to the PUSCH transmission.

[0057] Some example implementations therefore provide a UE 110 and a radio access node202 (e.g., gNB). The radio access node is configured to send an OCC timing configuration to aUE for uplink transmissions. In some examples, the radio access node may also send the UE a scheduling grant for an uplink transmission. The UE may be configured to receive the OCC timing configuration, and may also receive the scheduling grant. The UE may beconfigured to determine an alignment of an OCC for the uplink transmission based onthe OCC timing configuration, and transmit the uplink transmission to which the OCC isapplied based on the alignment. The radio access node may be configured to receive the uplink transmission, and decode the uplink transmission based on the OCC.

[0058] In some examples, the OCC timing configuration indicates a plurality ofOCC periods, and the the OCC is aligned to one of the plurality of OCC periods. In thisregard, for example, transmission of a first number of the modulated symbols to which the OCC is applied may begin concurrent with start of the one of the plurality of OCC periods. That is, the OCC application starts at the start of the OCC period.

[0059] In some examples in which the OCC timing configuration indicates aplurality of OCC periods, the UE 110 may be configued to identify one of the pluralityof OCC periods or a boundary between two consecutive OCC periods, and apply a cyclic shift to the OCC to align the OCC as shifted with the one of the plurality of OCC periods. Similar to before, this may include transmission of a first number of the modulated symbols to which the OCC as shifted is applied beginning concurrent with start of the one of the plurality of OCC periods.

[0060] In some examples, the UE 110 may be configured to transmit at least someof the modulated symbols of an uplink transmissions with an entire OCC code applied, and transmit the remaining part of the modulated symbols of the uplink transmission with a partial or fractional OCC applied, or with OCC disabled. This may occur, for example, in case the uplink transmission is a PUSCH transmission with repetitions, whose start is not aligned with the start of the OCC periods. In this case, at least the starting repetitions until the start of the next OCC period are transmitted with either a partial orfractional OCC or without OCC. All or part of the remaining repetitions are transmittedwith full OCC within the corresponding OCC periods. In one embodiment of this, the starting repetitions until the start of the next OCC period may not be transmitted.

[0061] Also, in some examples, the UE 110 may be configured to transmit the repetitionsin each set of repetitions that carry a full, partial or disabled OCC, i.e., set of repetitions falling in a same OCC period, using the same RV value. In some of these examples, the UE may cycle the RV values across respective ones of the sets of repetitions. This may, then, result in the same coded bits to be transmitted in those repetitions within the duration of a set of repetitions, thereby enabling application of the OCC across the set.

[0062] According to some example implementations, the radio access node 202 (e.g., gNB)may have freedom to schedule UEs 110 to initiate transmissions at any time, as the UEs mayuse the OCC timing configuration to ensure that their uplink transmissions are time aligned with the OCC being applied, thereby maintaining orthogonality for each OCC fragment.

[0063] To further illustrate example implementations of the present disclosure, FIG. 5 is asignaling chart 500 of OCC timing configuration and uplink transmissions to which the OCCtiming configuration is applied, according to some example implementations. As shown, theradio access node 202 (e.g., gNB) at step 501 provides the OCC timing configuration towards aUE 110, such as through system broadcast information (SIB) or using UE-dedicated signaling (e.g., RRC signaling). When the UE has been configured with the OCC timing configuration(and for uplink transmissions in repetition mode), the UE at step 502 receive a scheduling grantfor an uplink transmission, such as via DCI carried on the PDCCH. After a scheduling delay, theUE at step 503 initiates transmission of repetitions of the uplink transmissions (e.g., on thePUSCH) to which the aligned OCC is applied.

[0064] FIG. 6 illustrates uplink transmissions using alignment of applied OCC to system-defined OCC timing, according to some example implementations. As shown, in someexamples, system timing is defined relative to slot / frame timing. In FIG. 6, two UEs 110 (UE Aand UE B) are scheduled. The UEs receive their scheduling grants at different time instants and have the same scheduling delay (although their scheduling delay may be different). Upon starting transmissions after the configured scheduling delay, the UEs apply their corresponding (separately configured) OCC. In the illustrated example, the OCC has a size (or length) of 4 slots, the OCC timing configuration indicates a start at system slot 3. This means that each OCC period starts at slot 3 + (k × 4), for k = 0, 1, 2, ….

[0065] In the illustrated example, each UE 110 may be expected to be configured withdifferent OCCs such that the two UEs are “orthogonal” to each other under each period of the OCC. As shown, uplink transmissions from UE A and UE B may be perceived as orthogonal in system slots 7-10, 11-14, 15-18 and 19-22, since the OCCs completely overlap. In some examples, the UEs may cycle RV values across those slots so that, for example, one RV value is used in system slots 7-10, another RV value is used in system slots 11-14, etc. As also shown, the UE A and UE B transmissions in system slots 3-6 only have partial orthogonality. There may be no interference in the first two slot transmissions as UE B is not transmitting. The partial code (if applied by UE B) in slots 5 and 6 may lead to some interference (or no interference, depending on the assigned OCC and amount of “overlap” between the codes).

[0066] FIG. 7 illustrates uplink transmissions using alignment of applied OCC based onsystem-defined OCC timing, according to other example implementations. Similar to FIG. 6, inin some examples, system timing is defined relative to slot timing. In FIG.7, the two UEs 110(UE A and UE B) are scheduled with different numbers of repetitions. In particular, UE A is scheduled with 20 repetitions, and UE B is scheduled with a lower number of 4 repetitionswithin the 20 repetitions of UE A. The UEs are receiving their scheduling grants at differenttime instants and have the same “scheduling delay” (which in reality may be the same ordifferent). Similar to before, the UEs receive their scheduling grants at different time instants and have the same scheduling delay (although their scheduling delay may be different).

[0067] Upon starting transmissions after the configured scheduling delay, the UEs 110apply their corresponding OCC (separately configured, and configured to be orthogonal if they started at the same time). As before, the OCC has a size (or length) of 4 slots, the OCC timing configuration indicates a start at system slot 3, meaning that each OCC period starts at slot 3 + (k × 4), for k = 0, 1, 2, …. Each UE is expected to be configured with a different OCC such that the two UEs are “orthogonal” to each other, but UE B starts its repetitions three sytem slots after the start of the first OCC period (or one slot before the start of the second OCC period). In this example, UE B may apply a cyclic shift of three positions (or one position in the other direction) to its OCC to maintain orthogonality with UE A. In this regard, UE B is able to maintain orthogonality with UE A because UE A repeats the same OCC in the OCC timing configuration periods generating a cyclic pattern.

[0068] To further explain this example, consider that UE B is configured with OCC [+1, –1, –1, +1], and that UE A is configured with OCC [+1, +1, –1, –1]. If UE B started its transmission aligned with UE A, the OCC of UE B would be orthogonal to the OCC of UE A in that their inner product yields 0. But because UE B is scheduled to start transmission three slots after UE A, their OCCs are shifted in a way that impacts orthogonality of the OCCs in the corresponding slots. This is seen in FIG.7 in the case of UE B transmission without cyclic shift in which the inner product between the OCC of UE B and the corresponding OCC (fromrepetition 3 to 6) of UE A does not yield 0, but instead yields – 4. To compensate for this loss oforthogonality, UE B may be configured to apply a forward cyclic shift of one position (or backward cyclic shift of three positions) to its original OCC, where the value of the shift (one or three) is the slot distance between the start of the repetitions of UE B and the start of the following or current, respectively, OCC period. This results in an applied, shifted OCC [+1, +1, -1, -1], which is orthogonal to the UE A OCC from repetition 3 to 6, as seen in the case of UE B transmission with cyclic shift.

[0069] FIGS. 8A – 8D are flowcharts illustrating various steps in a method 800according to various example implementations. The method includes receiving an orthogonal cover code timing configuration for uplink transmissions, as shown at block802 of FIG. 8A. The method includes determining an alignment of an orthogonal covercode for an uplink transmission based on the orthogonal cover code timing configuration, as shown at block 804. And the method includes transmitting the uplink transmission to which the orthogonal cover code is applied based on the alignment, as shown at block 806.

[0070] In some examples, the orthogonal cover code timing configuration indicatesa plurality of orthogonal cover code periods. In some of these examples, determiningthe alignment of the orthogonal cover code at block 804 includes determining thealignment of the orthogonal cover code to one of the plurality of orthogonal cover codeperiods, as shown at block 808 of FIG. 8B.

[0071] In some examples, the uplink transmission includes modulated symbols to whichthe orthogonal cover code is applied, and transmission at block 806 of a first number of themodulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied begins concurrent with start of the one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

[0072] In some examples, the orthogonal cover code timing configuration indicatesa plurality of orthogonal cover code periods. In some of these examples, determiningthe alignment of the orthogonal cover code at block 804 includes identifying one of theplurality of orthogonal cover code periods, as shown at block 810 of FIG. 8C. In someof these examples, determining the alignment also includes applying a cyclic shift to the orthogonal cover code to align the orthogonal cover code as shifted with the one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods, as shown at block 812.

[0073] In some examples, the uplink transmission includes modulated symbols to whichthe orthogonal cover code is applied, and transmission at block 806 of a first number of themodulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code as shifted is applied begins concurrent with start of the one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

[0074] In some examples, the uplink transmission includes modulated symbols to whichthe orthogonal cover code is applied, and transmitting the uplink transmission at block 806 includes transmitting at least some of the modulated symbols in one or more sets towhich the orthogonal cover code is applied, as shown at block 814 of FIG. 8D. In someof these examples, transmitting the uplink transmission also includes transmitting one or more of the modulated symbols to which a partial or fractional of the orthogonal cover code is applied, or for which orthogonal cover code is disabled, as shown at block 816.

[0075] FIGS. 9A and 9B are flowcharts illustrating various steps in a method 900according to various example implementations. The method includes sending an orthogonal cover code timing configuration to a user equipment for uplinktransmissions, as shown at block 902 of FIG. 9A. The method includes receiving anuplink transmission of the user equipment to which an orthogonal cover code is appliedbased on an alignment of the orthogonal cover code determined at the user equipmentbased on the orthogonal cover code timing configuration, as shown at block 904. And themethod includes decoding the uplink transmission based on the orthogonal cover code, as shown at block 906.

[0076] In some examples, the orthogonal cover code timing configuration indicatesa plurality of orthogonal cover code periods, and the alignment is of the orthogonal cover code to one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

[0077] In some examples, the uplink transmission includes modulated symbols to whichthe orthogonal cover code is applied, and a first number of the modulated symbols to whichthe orthogonal cover code is applied is received at block 904 from a transmission thatbegan concurrent with start of the one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

[0078] In some examples, the orthogonal cover code timing configuration indicatesa plurality of orthogonal cover code periods, and the alignment of the orthogonal cover code is of the orthogonal cover code in which a cyclic shift is applied, the alignment being of the orthogonal cover code as shifted with one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

[0079] In some examples, the uplink transmission includes modulated symbols to whichthe orthogonal cover code is applied, and a first number of the modulated symbols to whichthe orthogonal cover code as shifted is applied is received at block 904 from atransmission that began concurrent with start of the one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

[0080] In some examples, the uplink transmission includes modulated symbols to whichthe orthogonal cover code is applied, and receiving the uplink transmission at block 904 includes receiving at least some of the modulated symbols in one or more sets to whichthe orthogonal cover code is applied, as shown at block 908 of FIG. 9B. In some ofthese examples, receiving the uplink transmission also includes receiving one or more of the modulated symbols to which a partial or fractional of the orthogonal cover code is applied, or for which orthogonal cover code is disabled, as shown at block 910.

[0081] According to example implementations of the present disclosure, atelecommunications system 100 or PLMN 102, and its components such as a UE 110, CN 106,RAN 108 and / or radio access node 202, may be implemented by various means. Means forimplementing the system and its components may include hardware, firmware, software, or combinations thereof. In some examples, one or more apparatuses may be configured to function as or otherwise implement the system and its components shown and described herein. In examples involving more than one apparatus, the respective apparatuses may be connected toor otherwise in communication with one another in a number of different manners, such as directly or indirectly via a wired or wireless network or the like.

[0082] According to some example implementations, at least some of the method 800described with respect to FIGS.8A-8D may be carried out by an apparatus comprising means for performing functions corresponding steps of the method. Similarly, at least some of themethod 900 described with respect to FIGS. 9A and 9B may be carried out by an apparatuscomprising means for performing functions corresponding steps of the method. Examples of a suitable apparatus may include a user equipment, user device, user terminal or the like. Other examples of a suitable apparatus may include a gNB (e.g., gNB-DU, gNB-CU), ng-eNB or any suitable apparatus, such as a server, host or node.

[0083] FIG. 10 illustrates an apparatus 1000 in which means for performing variousfunctions includes hardware, alone or under direction of one or more computer programs from a computer-readable storage medium, such as computer memory (or more simply “memory”), according to some example implementations of the present disclosure. Generally, an apparatus of example implementations of the present disclosure may comprise, include or be embodied in one or more fixed or portable electronic devices. Examples of suitable electronic devices include a wearable computer, mobile phone, portable computer, desktop computer, workstation computer, server (server computer) or the like. The apparatus may include one or more of eachof a number of components such as, for example, processing circuitry 1002 connected tocomputer-readable storage medium 1004.

[0084] The processing circuitry 1002 may be composed of one or more processors alone orin combination with one or more computer-readable storage media. The processing circuitry is generally any piece of computer hardware that is capable of processing information such as, for example, data, computer programs and / or other suitable electronic information. The processing circuitry is composed of a collection of electronic circuits some of which may be packaged as an integrated circuit or multiple interconnected integrated circuits (an integrated circuit at times more commonly referred to as a “chip”). The processing circuitry may be configured to executecomputer programs, which may be stored onboard the processing circuitry or otherwise storedin the computer-readable storage medium 1004 (of the same or another apparatus).

[0085] The processing circuitry 1002 may be a number of processors, a multi-coreprocessor or some other type of processor, depending on the particular implementation. Further, the processing circuitry may be implemented using a number of heterogeneous processor systems in which a main processor is present with one or more secondary processors on a single chip. As another illustrative example, the processing circuitry may be a symmetric multi- processor system containing multiple processors of the same type. In yet another example, the processing circuitry may be embodied as or otherwise include one or more ASICs, FPGAs orthe like. Thus, although the processing circuitry may be capable of executing a computer program to perform one or more functions, the processing circuitry of various examples may becapable of performing one or more functions without the aid of a computer program. In eitherinstance, the processing circuitry may be appropriately programmed to perform functions or operations according to example implementations of the present disclosure.

[0086] The computer-readable storage medium 1004 is generally any piece of computerhardware that is capable of storing information such as, for example, data, computer programs (e.g., computer-readable program code 1006) and / or other suitable information either on a temporary basis and / or a permanent basis. The computer-readable storage medium may include volatile and / or non-volatile memory, and may be fixed or removable. Examples of suitable memory include recording media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), a hard drive, a flash memory, a thumb drive, a removable computer diskette, an optical disk or some combination thereof.

[0087] The computer-readable storage medium 1004 is a non-transitory device capable ofstoring information, and is distinguishable from a computer-readable transmission medium capable of carrying information from one location to another. Examples of suitable computer- readable transmission media comprise electronic carrier signals, telecommunications signals, software distribution packages, or some combination thereof. As used herein, the term “non- transitory” is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal) as opposed to alimitation on data storage persistency (e.g., RAM versus ROM). A computer-readable mediumas described herein generally refers to a computer-readable storage medium or computer- readable transmission medium. A computer-readable medium is any entity or device capable inwhich information, such as one or more computer programs or portions thereof, may be storedand carried.

[0088] In addition to the computer-readable storage medium 1004, the processing circuitry1002 may also be connected to one or more interfaces for displaying, transmitting and / orreceiving information. The interfaces may include a communications interface 1008 and / or oneor more user interfaces. The communications interface may be configured to transmit and / or receive information, such as to and / or from other apparatus(es), network(s) or the like. The communications interface may be configured to transmit and / or receive information by physical (wired) and / or wireless communications links. Examples of suitable communication interfaces include a network interface controller (NIC), wireless NIC (WNIC) or the like.

[0089] The user interfaces may include a display 1010 and / or one or more user inputinterfaces 1012. The display may be configured to present or otherwise display information to a user, suitable examples of which include a liquid crystal display (LCD), light-emitting diode (LED) display, organic LED (OLED) display, active-matrix OLED (AMOLED) or the like. Theuser input interfaces may be wired or wireless, and may be configured to receive information from a user into the apparatus, such as for processing, storage and / or display. Suitable examples of user input interfaces include a microphone, image or video capture device, keyboard or keypad, joystick, touch-sensitive surface (separate from or integrated into a touchscreen), biometric sensor or the like. The user interfaces may further include one or more interfaces for communicating with peripherals such as printers, scanners or the like.

[0090] Execution of the computer-readable program code 1006 by the processing circuitry1002, or storage of the computer-readable program code in the computer-readable storage medium 1004, supports combinations of operations for implementing example implementationsof the present disclosure. In this manner, an apparatus 1000 may comprise at least oneprocessing circuitry and at least one computer-readable storage medium coupled to the at least one processing circuitry, where the at least one processing circuitry is configured to execute computer-readable program code stored in the at least one computer-readable storage medium. It will also be understood that one or more functions, and combinations of functions, may be implemented by special purpose hardware-based computer systems and / or processing circuitry which perform the specified functions, or combinations of special purpose hardware and program code instructions.

[0091] Some example implementations of the present disclosure may also be carried out inthe form of a computer process defined by one or more computer programs or portions thereof.Example implementations of the present disclosure may be carried out by executing at least oneportion of a computer program comprising computer-readable program code. The computer program may be in source code form, object code form, or in some intermediate form. The computer program may be stored in a computer-readable medium that is readable by a computer, processing circuitry or other suitable apparatus. As indicated above, for example, the computer program may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Additionally or alternatively, for example, the computer program may be stored in a computer-readable transmission medium. The coding of software for carrying out example implementations of the present disclosure is well within the scope of a person of ordinary skill in the art.

[0092] As will be appreciated, any suitable computer-readable program code may beloaded onto a computer, a processing circuitry or other programmable apparatus from a computer-readable medium (e.g., computer-readable storage medium, computer-readable transmission medium) to produce a particular machine, such that the particular machine becomes a means for implementing the functions specified herein. The computer-readable program code may also be stored in a computer-readable medium that can direct a computer, a processing circuitry or other programmable apparatus to function in a particular manner to thereby generate a particular machine or particular article of manufacture. In some examples,the computer-readable program code stored in the computer-readable medium may produce an article of manufacture, where the article of manufacture becomes a means for implementing functions described herein. The computer-readable program code may be retrieved from a computer-readable medium and loaded into a computer, processing circuitry or other programmable apparatus to configure the computer, processing circuitry or other programmable apparatus to execute operations to be performed on or by the computer, processing circuitry or other programmable apparatus.

[0093] Retrieval, loading and execution of computer-readable program code comprisingprogram code instructions may be performed sequentially such that one instruction is retrieved,loaded and executed at a time. In some example implementations, retrieval, loading and / orexecution may be performed in parallel such that multiple instructions are retrieved, loaded, and / or executed together. Execution of the program code instructions may produce a computer- implemented process such that the instructions executed by the computer, processing circuitry or other programmable apparatus provide operations for implementing functions described herein.

[0094] As explained above and reiterated below, the present disclosure includes, withoutlimitation, the following example implementations.

[0095] Clause 1. An apparatus comprising: at least one memory configured to storeinstructions; and at least one processing circuitry configured to access the at least one memory, and execute the instructions to cause the apparatus to at least: receive an orthogonal cover code timing configuration for uplink transmissions; determine an alignment of an orthogonal cover code for an uplink transmission based on the orthogonal cover code timing configuration; andtransmit the uplink transmission to which the orthogonal cover code is applied based on thealignment.

[0096] Clause 2. The apparatus of clause 1, wherein the orthogonal cover code timingconfiguration indicates a plurality of orthogonal cover code periods, and determining the alignment of the orthogonal cover code includes determining the alignment of the orthogonal cover code to one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

[0097] Clause 3. The apparatus of clause 2, wherein the uplink transmission includesmodulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied, and transmission of a first number of the modulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied begins concurrent with start of the one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

[0098] Clause 4. The apparatus of any of clauses 1 to 3, wherein the orthogonal covercode timing configuration indicates a plurality of orthogonal cover code periods, and determining the alignment of the orthogonal cover code includes: identify one of the plurality oforthogonal cover code periods; and apply a cyclic shift to the orthogonal cover code to align the orthogonal cover code as shifted with the one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

[0099] Clause 5. The apparatus of clause 4, wherein the uplink transmission includesmodulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied, and transmission of a first number of the modulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code as shifted is applied begins concurrent with start of the one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

[0100] Clause 6. The apparatus of any of clauses 1 to 5, wherein the uplink transmissionincludes modulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied, and the apparatus caused to transmit the uplink transmission includes the apparatus caused to: transmit at least some of the modulated symbols in one or more sets to which the orthogonal cover code is applied; and transmit one or more of the modulated symbols to which a partial or fractional of the orthogonal cover code is applied, or for which orthogonal cover code is disabled.

[0101] Clause 7. An apparatus comprising: means for receiving an orthogonal cover codetiming configuration for uplink transmissions; means for determining an alignment of an orthogonal cover code for an uplink transmission based on the orthogonal cover code timing configuration; and means for transmitting the uplink transmission to which the orthogonal cover code is applied based on the alignment.

[0102] Clause 8. The apparatus of clause 7, wherein the orthogonal cover code timingconfiguration indicates a plurality of orthogonal cover code periods, and the means for determining the alignment of the orthogonal cover code includes means for determining the alignment of the orthogonal cover code to one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

[0103] Clause 9. The apparatus of clause 8, wherein the uplink transmission includesmodulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied, and transmission of a first number of the modulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied begins concurrent with start of the one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

[0104] Clause 10. The apparatus of any of clauses 7 to 9, wherein the orthogonal covercode timing configuration indicates a plurality of orthogonal cover code periods, and the means for determining the alignment of the orthogonal cover code includes: means for identifying one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods; and means for applying a cyclic shift to the orthogonal cover code to align the orthogonal cover code as shifted with the one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

[0105] Clause 11. The apparatus of clause 10, wherein the uplink transmission includesmodulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied, and transmission of a first number of the modulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code as shifted is applied begins concurrent with start of the one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

[0106] Clause 12. The apparatus of any of clauses 7 to 11, wherein the uplinktransmission includes modulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied, and the means for transmitting the uplink transmission includes: means for transmitting at least some of the modulated symbols in one or more sets to which the orthogonal cover code is applied; and means for transmitting one or more of the modulated symbols to which a partial or fractional of the orthogonal cover code is applied, or for which orthogonal cover code is disabled.

[0107] Clause 13. A method comprising: receiving an orthogonal cover code timingconfiguration for uplink transmissions; determining an alignment of an orthogonal cover code for an uplink transmission based on the orthogonal cover code timing configuration; and transmitting the uplink transmission to which the orthogonal cover code is applied based on the alignment.

[0108] Clause 14. The method of clause 13, wherein the orthogonal cover code timingconfiguration indicates a plurality of orthogonal cover code periods, and determining the alignment of the orthogonal cover code includes determining the alignment of the orthogonal cover code to one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

[0109] Clause 15. The method of clause 14, wherein the uplink transmission includesmodulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied, and transmission of a first number of the modulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied begins concurrent with start of the one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

[0110] Clause 16. The method of any of clauses 13 to 15, wherein the orthogonal covercode timing configuration indicates a plurality of orthogonal cover code periods, and determining the alignment of the orthogonal cover code includes: identifying one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods; and applying a cyclic shift to the orthogonal cover code to align the orthogonal cover code as shifted with the one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

[0111] Clause 17. The method of clause 16, wherein the uplink transmission includesmodulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied, and transmission of a first number of the modulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code as shifted is applied begins concurrent with start of the one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

[0112] Clause 18. The method of any of clauses 13 to 17, wherein the uplink transmissionincludes modulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied, and transmitting the uplink transmission includes: transmitting at least some of the modulated symbols in one or more sets to which the orthogonal cover code is applied; and transmitting one or more of the modulated symbols to which a partial or fractional of the orthogonal cover code is applied, or for which orthogonal cover code is disabled.

[0113] Clause 19. A computer-readable storage medium that is non-transitory and hasinstructions stored therein that, in response to execution by at least one processing circuitry, causes an apparatus to at least: receive an orthogonal cover code timing configuration for uplink transmissions; determine an alignment of an orthogonal cover code for an uplink transmission based on the orthogonal cover code timing configuration; and transmit the uplink transmission to which the orthogonal cover code is applied based on the alignment.

[0114] Clause 20. The computer-readable storage medium of clause 19, wherein theorthogonal cover code timing configuration indicates a plurality of orthogonal cover code periods, and determining the alignment of the orthogonal cover code includes determining the alignment of the orthogonal cover code to one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

[0115] Clause 21. The computer-readable storage medium of clause 20, wherein theuplink transmission includes modulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied, and transmission of a first number of the modulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied begins concurrent with start of the one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

[0116] Clause 22. The computer-readable storage medium of any of clauses 19 to 21,wherein the orthogonal cover code timing configuration indicates a plurality of orthogonal cover code periods, and determining the alignment of the orthogonal cover code includes:identify one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods; and apply a cyclic shift to theorthogonal cover code to align the orthogonal cover code as shifted with the one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

[0117] Clause 23. The computer-readable storage medium of clause 22, wherein the uplinktransmission includes modulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied, and transmission of a first number of the modulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code as shifted is applied begins concurrent with start of the one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

[0118] Clause 24. The computer-readable storage medium of any of clauses 19 to 23,wherein the uplink transmission includes modulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied, and the apparatus caused to transmit the uplink transmission includes theapparatus caused to: transmit at least some of the modulated symbols in one or more sets towhich the orthogonal cover code is applied; and transmit one or more of the modulated symbols to which a partial or fractional of the orthogonal cover code is applied, or for which orthogonal cover code is disabled.

[0119] Clause 25. An apparatus comprising means for performing the method of any ofclauses 13 to 18.

[0120] Clause 26. A computer-readable medium comprising computer-readable programcode that, in response to execution by at least one processing circuitry, causes an apparatus to perform the method of any of clauses 13 to 18.

[0121] Clause 27. A computer-readable storage medium comprising computer-readableprogram code that, in response to execution by at least one processing circuitry, causes an apparatus to perform the method of any of clauses 13 to 18.

[0122] Clause 28. A computer program comprising computer-readable program code that,in response to execution by at least one processing circuitry, causes an apparatus to perform the method of any of clauses 13 to 18.

[0123] Clause 29. An apparatus comprising: at least one memory configured to storeinstructions; and at least one processing circuitry configured to access the at least one memory, and execute the instructions to cause the apparatus to at least: send an orthogonal cover code timing configuration to a user equipment for uplink transmissions; receive an uplink transmission of the user equipment to which an orthogonal cover code is applied based on an alignment of the orthogonal cover code determined at the user equipment based on the orthogonal cover code timing configuration; and decode the uplink transmission based on the orthogonal cover code.

[0124] Clause 30. The apparatus of clause 29, wherein the orthogonal cover code timingconfiguration indicates a plurality of orthogonal cover code periods, and the alignment is of the orthogonal cover code to one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

[0125] Clause 31. The apparatus of clause 30, wherein the uplink transmission includesmodulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied, and a first number of the modulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied is received from a transmission that began concurrent with start of the one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

[0126] Clause 32. The apparatus of any of clauses 29 to 31, wherein the orthogonal covercode timing configuration indicates a plurality of orthogonal cover code periods, and the alignment of the orthogonal cover code is of the orthogonal cover code in which a cyclic shift is applied, the alignment being of the orthogonal cover code as shifted with one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

[0127] Clause 33. The apparatus of clause 32, wherein the uplink transmission includesmodulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied, and a first number of the modulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code as shifted is applied is received from a transmission that began concurrent with start of the one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

[0128] Clause 34. The apparatus of any of clauses 29 to 33, wherein the uplinktransmission includes modulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied, and the apparatus caused to receive the uplink transmission includes the apparatus caused to: receive at least some of the modulated symbols in one or more sets to which the orthogonal cover code is applied; and receive one or more of the modulated symbols to which a partial or fractional of the orthogonal cover code is applied, or for which orthogonal cover code is disabled.

[0129] Clause 35. An apparatus comprising: means for sending an orthogonal cover codetiming configuration to an user equipment for uplink transmissions; means for receiving an uplink transmission of the user equipment to which an orthogonal cover code is applied based on an alignment of the orthogonal cover code determined at the user equipment based on the orthogonal cover code timing configuration; and means for decoding the uplink transmission based on the orthogonal cover code.

[0130] Clause 36. The apparatus of clause 35, wherein the orthogonal cover code timingconfiguration indicates a plurality of orthogonal cover code periods, and the alignment is of the orthogonal cover code to one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

[0131] Clause 37. The apparatus of clause 36, wherein the uplink transmission includesmodulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied, and a first number of the modulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied is received from a transmission that began concurrent with start of the one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

[0132] Clause 38. The apparatus of any of clauses 35 to 37, wherein the orthogonal covercode timing configuration indicates a plurality of orthogonal cover code periods, and the alignment of the orthogonal cover code is of the orthogonal cover code in which a cyclic shift is applied, the alignment being of the orthogonal cover code as shifted with one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

[0133] Clause 39. The apparatus of clause 38, wherein the uplink transmission includesmodulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied, and a first number of the modulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code as shifted is applied is received from a transmission that began concurrent with start of the one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

[0134] Clause 40. The apparatus of any of clauses 35 to 39, wherein the uplinktransmission includes modulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied, and the means for receiving the uplink transmission includes: means for receiving at least some of the modulated symbols in one or more sets to which the orthogonal cover code is applied; and means for receiving one or more of the modulated symbols to which a partial or fractional of the orthogonal cover code is applied, or for which orthogonal cover code is disabled.

[0135] Clause 41. A method comprising: sending an orthogonal cover code timingconfiguration to a user equipment for uplink transmissions; receiving an uplink transmission of the user equipment to which an orthogonal cover code is applied based on an alignment of the orthogonal cover code determined at the user equipment based on the orthogonal cover code timing configuration; and decoding the uplink transmission based on the orthogonal cover code.

[0136] Clause 42. The method of clause 41, wherein the orthogonal cover code timingconfiguration indicates a plurality of orthogonal cover code periods, and the alignment is of the orthogonal cover code to one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

[0137] Clause 43. The method of clause 42, wherein the uplink transmission includesmodulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied, and a first number of the modulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied is received from a transmission that began concurrent with start of the one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

[0138] Clause 44. The method of any of clauses 41 to 43, wherein the orthogonal covercode timing configuration indicates a plurality of orthogonal cover code periods, and the alignment of the orthogonal cover code is of the orthogonal cover code in which a cyclic shift is applied, the alignment being of the orthogonal cover code as shifted with one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

[0139] Clause 45. The method of clause 44, wherein the uplink transmission includesmodulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied, and a first number of the modulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code as shifted is applied is received from a transmission that began concurrent with start of the one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

[0140] Clause 46. The method of any of clauses 41 to 45, wherein the uplink transmissionincludes modulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied, and receiving the uplink transmission includes: receiving at least some of the modulated symbols in one or more sets to which the orthogonal cover code is applied; and receiving one or more of the modulated symbols to which a partial or fractional of the orthogonal cover code is applied, or for which orthogonal cover code is disabled.

[0141] Clause 47. A computer-readable storage medium that is non-transitory and hasinstructions stored therein that, in response to execution by at least one processing circuitry, causes an apparatus to at least: send an orthogonal cover code timing configuration to a user equipment for uplink transmissions; receive an uplink transmission of the user equipment to which an orthogonal cover code is applied based on an alignment of the orthogonal cover code determined at the user equipment based on the orthogonal cover code timing configuration; and decode the uplink transmission based on the orthogonal cover code.

[0142] Clause 48. The computer-readable storage medium of clause 47, wherein theorthogonal cover code timing configuration indicates a plurality of orthogonal cover code periods, and the alignment is of the orthogonal cover code to one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

[0143] Clause 49. The computer-readable storage medium of clause 48, wherein theuplink transmission includes modulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied, and a first number of the modulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied is received from a transmission that began concurrent with start of the one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

[0144] Clause 50. The computer-readable storage medium of any of clauses 47 to 49,wherein the orthogonal cover code timing configuration indicates a plurality of orthogonal cover code periods, and the alignment of the orthogonal cover code is of the orthogonal cover code in which a cyclic shift is applied, the alignment being of the orthogonal cover code as shifted with one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

[0145] Clause 51. The computer-readable storage medium of clause 50, wherein the uplinktransmission includes modulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied, and a first number of the modulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code as shifted is applied is received from a transmission that began concurrent with start of the one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

[0146] Clause 52. The computer-readable storage medium of any of clauses 47 to 51,wherein the uplink transmission includes modulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied, and the apparatus caused to receive the uplink transmission includes theapparatus caused to: receive at least some of the modulated symbols in one or more sets towhich the orthogonal cover code is applied; and receive one or more of the modulated symbols to which a partial or fractional of the orthogonal cover code is applied, or for which orthogonal cover code is disabled.

[0147] Clause 53. An apparatus comprising means for performing the method of any ofclauses 41 to 46.

[0148] Clause 54. A computer-readable medium comprising computer-readable programcode that, in response to execution by at least one processing circuitry, causes an apparatus to perform the method of any of clauses 41 to 46.

[0149] Clause 55. A computer-readable storage medium comprising computer-readableprogram code that, in response to execution by at least one processing circuitry, causes an apparatus to perform the method of any of clauses 41 to 46.

[0150] Clause 56. A computer program comprising computer-readable program code that,in response to execution by at least one processing circuitry, causes an apparatus to perform the method of any of clauses 41 to 46.

[0151] Many modifications and other implementations of the disclosure set forth hereinwill come to mind to one skilled in the art to which the disclosure pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing description and the associated figures. Therefore, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not to be limited to the specific implementations disclosed and that modifications and other implementations are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Moreover, although the foregoing description and the associated figures describe example implementations in the context of certain example combinations of elements and / or functions, it should be appreciated that different combinations of elements and / or functions may be provided by alternative implementations without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In this regard, for example, different combinations of elements and / or functions than those explicitly described above are also contemplated as may be set forth in some of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. An apparatus comprising:means for receiving an orthogonal cover code timing configuration for uplink transmissions; means for determining an alignment of an orthogonal cover code for an uplink transmission based on the orthogonal cover code timing configuration; and means for transmitting the uplink transmission to which the orthogonal cover code is applied based on the alignment.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the orthogonal cover code timingconfiguration indicates a plurality of orthogonal cover code periods, and the means for determining the alignment of the orthogonal cover code includes means for determining the alignment of the orthogonal cover code to one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the uplink transmission includes modulatedsymbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied, and transmission of a first number of the modulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied begins concurrent with start of the one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

4. The apparatus of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the orthogonal cover codetiming configuration indicates a plurality of orthogonal cover code periods, and the means for determining the alignment of the orthogonal cover code includes: means for identifying one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods; and means for applying a cyclic shift to the orthogonal cover code to align the orthogonal cover code as shifted with the one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the uplink transmission includes modulatedsymbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied, and transmission of a first number of the modulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code as shifted is applied begins concurrentwith start of the one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

6. The apparatus of any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the uplink transmissionincludes modulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied, and the means for transmitting the uplink transmission includes: means for transmitting at least some of the modulated symbols in one or more sets to which the orthogonal cover code is applied; andmeans for transmitting one or more of the modulated symbols to which a partial or fractional of the orthogonal cover code is applied, or for which orthogonal cover code is disabled.

7. A method comprising:receiving an orthogonal cover code timing configuration for uplink transmissions; determining an alignment of an orthogonal cover code for an uplink transmission based on the orthogonal cover code timing configuration; and transmitting the uplink transmission to which the orthogonal cover code is applied based on the alignment.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the orthogonal cover code timingconfiguration indicates a plurality of orthogonal cover code periods, and determining the alignment of the orthogonal cover code includes determining the alignment of the orthogonal cover code to one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the uplink transmission includes modulatedsymbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied, and transmission of a first number of the modulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied begins concurrent with startof the one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

10. The method of any of claims 7 to 9, wherein the orthogonal cover code timingconfiguration indicates a plurality of orthogonal cover code periods, and determining the alignment of the orthogonal cover code includes: identifying one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods; and applying a cyclic shift to the orthogonal cover code to align the orthogonal cover code as shifted with the one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

11. An apparatus comprising:means for sending an orthogonal cover code timing configuration to an user equipment for uplink transmissions; means for receiving an uplink transmission of the user equipment to which an orthogonal cover code is applied based on an alignment of the orthogonal cover code determined at the user equipment based on the orthogonal cover code timing configuration; and means for decoding the uplink transmission based on the orthogonal cover code.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the orthogonal cover code timingconfiguration indicates a plurality of orthogonal cover code periods, and the alignment is of the orthogonal cover code to one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the uplink transmission includesmodulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied, and a first number of the modulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied is received from a transmission that began concurrent with start of the one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

14. The apparatus of any of claims 11 to 13, wherein the orthogonal cover codetiming configuration indicates a plurality of orthogonal cover code periods, and the alignment of the orthogonal cover code is of the orthogonal cover code in which a cyclic shift is applied, the alignment being of the orthogonal cover code as shifted with one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the uplink transmission includes modulatedsymbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied, and a first number of the modulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code as shifted is applied is received from a transmission that began concurrent with start of the one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

16. The apparatus of any of claims 11 to 15, wherein the uplink transmissionincludes modulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied, and the means for receiving the uplink transmission includes: means for receiving at least some of the modulated symbols in one or more sets to which the orthogonal cover code is applied; and means for receiving one or more of the modulated symbols to which a partial or fractional of the orthogonal cover code is applied, or for which orthogonal cover code is disabled.

17. A method comprising:sending an orthogonal cover code timing configuration to a user equipment for uplink transmissions; receiving an uplink transmission of the user equipment to which an orthogonal cover code is applied based on an alignment of the orthogonal cover code determined at the user equipment based on the orthogonal cover code timing configuration; anddecoding the uplink transmission based on the orthogonal cover code.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the orthogonal cover code timingconfiguration indicates a plurality of orthogonal cover code periods, and the alignment is of the orthogonal cover code to one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the uplink transmission includes modulatedsymbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied, and a first number of the modulated symbols to which the orthogonal cover code is applied is received from a transmission thatbegan concurrent with start of the one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

20. The method of any of claims 17 to 19, wherein the orthogonal cover codetiming configuration indicates a plurality of orthogonal cover code periods, and the alignment of the orthogonal cover code is of the orthogonal cover code in which a cyclic shift is applied, the alignment being of the orthogonal cover code as shifted with one of the plurality of orthogonal cover code periods.

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