Device and communication method

Abstract

This device having a lower complexity than a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) device comprises: a reception unit that receives a reception signal including control information from a wireless communication device; a control unit that sets a first reference point, which is a timing in a reception time of the reception signal and is a start point of a time interval, and a second reference point that is an end point of the time interval; and a transmission unit that transmits a transmission signal to the wireless communication device in a transmission time including the second reference point. The control unit sets the time interval on the basis of the control information and sets the second reference point on the basis of the first reference point and the time interval.

Description

Device and communication method

[0001] The present disclosure relates to devices and communication methods.

[0002] For NR (New Radio) (also called "5G"), the successor system to LTE (Long Term Evolution), technologies are being considered that meet the requirements of a large-capacity system, high-speed data transmission speed, low latency, simultaneous connection of a large number of terminals, low cost, low power consumption, etc. (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1).

[0003] Furthermore, in Release 18 (Rel-18) of 3GPP (registered trademark), ambient IoT (A-IoT: Ambient Internet of Things) is being considered (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 2). Ambient IoT targets devices with extremely simple configurations for low-end IoT applications that operate with extremely low power consumption.

[0004] 3GPP TS 38.300 V17.3.0 (2022-12)”Revised SID on Ambient IoT”, RP-232404, 3GPP TSG RAN Meeting #101, September 20233GPP TR 38.848 V1.0.0 (2023-09)3GPP TS 36.211 V16.8.0 (2023-09)”Study on solutions for Ambient IoT (Internet of Things) in NR”, RP-234058, 3GPP TSG RAN Meeting #102, December 2023

[0005] In a communication system including an ambient IoT device, an A-IoT device receives a reader-to-device (R2D) communication signal (hereinafter simply referred to as "R2D") from a reader side such as a base station, and transmits a device-to-reader (D2R) communication signal (hereinafter simply referred to as "D2R") to the reader side within a "time window." This "time window" is determined based on the time interval from the time the R2D signal is received to the time the D2R signal is transmitted.

[0006] However, it is not clearly defined what timing of the transmitted and received signals is used as the basis for determining the time interval. Since transmitted and received signals have length, unless the start and end points of the time interval, i.e., the reference point that serves as the basis for the time interval, are defined, the device and the reader cannot share an accurate time interval.

[0007] One aspect of the present disclosure contributes to providing a device and a communication method that clarify the relationship between a reference point that serves as the basis for a time interval set in a signal transmitted and received and the defined / displayed time interval in a communication system including an ambient IoT device.

[0008] A device according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a device of lower complexity than an NB-IoT (Narrow Band Internet of Things) device, comprising: a receiving unit that receives a received signal including control information from a wireless communication device; a control unit that sets a first reference point which is the timing on the reception time of the received signal and serves as the starting point of a time interval, and a second reference point which serves as the ending point of the time interval; and a transmitting unit that transmits a transmission signal to the wireless communication device with a transmission time that includes the second reference point, wherein the control unit sets the time interval based on the control information and sets the second reference point based on the first reference point and the time interval.

[0009] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating Topology 1. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating Topology 3 in DL assistance. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating Topology 4 in UL assistance. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating backscatter transmission. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a candidate topology for CW / R2D / D2R transmission in Topology 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a candidate topology for CW / R2D / D2R transmission in Topology 2. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a time window for an A-IoT device. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating examples of preambles, control, data, and postambles used in R2D / D2R transmission. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating examples of reference points in preambles, control, data, and postambles used in R2D / D2R transmission. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating another example of reference points in preambles, control, data, and postambles used in R2D / D2R transmission. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of multiple time intervals corresponding to multiple reference points in R2D / D2R transmission. FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a base station according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a base station and a device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment according to one aspect of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiment described below is an example, and the embodiment to which the present disclosure is applied is not limited to the following embodiment.

[0011] In the operation of the wireless communication system according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, existing technology is used as appropriate. The existing technology is, for example, the existing LTE or NR, but is not limited to the existing LTE or NR. In addition, the term "LTE" used in this specification has a broad meaning including LTE-Advanced and systems subsequent to LTE-Advanced, unless otherwise specified.

[0012] In addition, in the embodiments of the present disclosure described below, terms such as SS (synchronization signal), PSS (primary SS), SSS (secondary SS), PBCH (physical broadcast channel), PRACH (physical random access channel), PDCCH (physical downlink control channel), PDSCH (physical downlink shared channel), PUCCH (physical uplink control channel), and PUSCH (physical uplink shared channel) used in existing LTE are used. This is for convenience of description, and similar signals, functions, etc. may be referred to by other names. Furthermore, the above-mentioned terms in NR correspond to NR-SS, NR-PSS, NR-SSS, NR-PBCH, NR-PRACH, etc. However, even signals used in NR are not necessarily designated as "NR-".

[0013] Furthermore, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the duplex method may be a time division duplex (TDD) method, a frequency division duplex (FDD) method, or another method (for example, flexible duplex, etc.).

[0014] Furthermore, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, "configuring" radio parameters, etc. may mean that predetermined values ​​are pre-configured, or that radio parameters notified from a base station, a device, a terminal, etc. are set.

[0015] (Embodiment) <Wireless Communication System> Figure 1 is a diagram showing an example of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 1, the wireless communication system 1 includes a base station 10 and a device 20. Figure 1 shows one base station 10 and one device 20, but this is just an example, and there may be multiple base stations and devices. The base station is also referred to as BS (Base Station), gNB, etc. The device 20 can be said to be a form of terminal (UE: User Equipment), and may be an ambient IoT device, which is a device with lower complexity than an NB-IoT (Narrow Band Internet of Things) device. The ambient IoT device may be referred to as an ambient IoT terminal, ambient IoT UE, etc.

[0016] Base station 10 is a communication device that provides one or more cells and performs wireless communication with device 20. The physical resources of the wireless signal are defined in the time domain and the frequency domain. The time domain may be defined by the number of OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) symbols. The frequency domain may be defined by the number of subcarriers or the number of resource blocks (RB).

[0017] The base station 10 transmits DL (Downlink) signals to the device 20, including control information, configuration information, and data. The base station 10 receives UL (Uplink) signals from the device 20, including control information, information regarding the processing capabilities of the device 20 (device capability (information) or A-IoT capability (information); for example, capability, device capability, A-IoT capability, A-IoT device capability, etc.), and data.

[0018] Channels used for transmitting DL signals include, for example, data channels and control channels. For example, the data channel may include a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), and the control channel may include a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). For example, the base station 10 transmits control information to the device 20 using the PDCCH, and transmits DL data signals using the PDSCH. Note that the PDSCH is an example of a downlink shared channel or a data channel, and the PDCCH is an example of a downlink control channel. The PDCCH may be interpreted as downlink control information (DCI), control information, etc. transmitted in the PDCCH.

[0019] As will be described later, the wireless communication system may include intermediate nodes, assisting nodes, and / or terminals (UEs) (see <Device Types and Topologies> below). Note that, hereinafter, "and / or" may be written simply as " / ".

[0020] The device 20 is a communication device equipped with a wireless communication function, and may be an ambient IoT device (e.g., a sensor, etc.) as described above. Hereinafter, the ambient IoT device will also be referred to as an A-IoT UE.

[0021] The device 20 receives DL signals such as control signals, setting information, and data from the base station 10 via DL, and transmits UL signals such as control signals, capability information of the device 20, and data to the base station 10 via UL.

[0022] Channels used for transmitting UL signals include, for example, data channels and control channels. For example, the data channel may include a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), and the control channel may include a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH). For example, the device 20 transmits control information using the PUCCH and transmits UL data signals using the PUSCH. Note that the PUSCH is an example of an uplink shared channel or a data channel, and the PUCCH is an example of an uplink control channel. Note that the PUSCH or the PUCCH may be interpreted as uplink control information (UCI), control information, etc. transmitted in the PUSCH or the PUCCH.

[0023] <Ambient IoT> Rel-18 approved the study of ambient IoT, which is even lower-end than the existing NB-IoT (see, for example, Section 10 of Non-Patent Document 4) (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 2). Ambient IoT targets ultra-low power consumption and ultra-low complexity devices.

[0024] For Ambient IoT, for example, the following deployment scenarios and characteristics can be considered for relevant use cases: Indoor or outdoor environment; Base station type, for example, macro / micro / pico cell-based deployment; Connectivity topology, for example, which nodes, such as base stations, terminals (UE), relays, and repeaters, communicate with Ambient IoT devices; Duplexing method, TDD or FDD, and frequency band, licensed or unlicensed; Coexistence with UE and network equipment in frequency bands for existing 3GPP technologies; Assumptions of traffic originating from / terminating at devices.

[0025] Based on the above implementation scenarios and characteristics, the following RAN design targets may be formulated, for example: • Power consumption • Complexity • Coverage • Data rate • Positioning accuracy

[0026] Based on deployment scenarios suitable for relevant use cases, compare and evaluate the feasibility of meeting design targets and identify the supporting functionalities.

[0027] <Device Types and Topologies> Based on the results of the study items, TR 38.848 (Non-Patent Document 3) was approved. TR 38.848 considers the following categories of ambient IoT devices: Device A: Device A has no power (energy) storage, no independent signal generation or signal amplification functions, and performs backscattering transmission. Device B: Device B has power storage, no independent signal generation function, and performs backscattering transmission. Device B uses the stored power to amplify the reflected signal. Device C: Device C has power storage, independent signal generation function, and an active RF (radio frequency) component for transmission.

[0028] The complexity of device A is expected to be similar to that of RFID (radio frequency identification).

[0029] TR 38.848 defines topologies 1 to 4, described below, for ambient IoT networks.

[0030] Figure 2 illustrates topology 1. As shown in Figure 2, topology 1 is a configuration in which a base station (BS) and ambient IoT devices communicate. The ambient IoT devices directly perform bidirectional communication with the base station.

[0031] 3 is a diagram illustrating Topology 2. As shown in FIG. 3, Topology 2 is a configuration in which a base station and an ambient IoT device communicate with each other via an intermediate node. The ambient IoT device performs bidirectional communication with the intermediate node located between the base station and the ambient IoT device. The intermediate node may be, for example, a relay, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a UE, a repeater, or the like.

[0032] Figure 4 illustrates topology 3 in DL support. As shown in Figure 4, topology 3 is a configuration that includes communication between the base station and the assisting node, communication between the assisting node and the ambient IoT device, and communication between the ambient IoT device and the base station.

[0033] The support node assists with DL communication. For example, as shown in Figure 4, the support node receives DL signals from the base station and transmits the received DL signals to the ambient IoT device. For UL communication, the ambient IoT device transmits UL signals directly to the base station.

[0034] Figure 5 illustrates topology 3 in UL support. As shown in Figure 5, topology 3 is a configuration that includes communication between the base station and the support node, communication between the support node and the ambient IoT device, and communication between the ambient IoT device and the base station.

[0035] The support node assists with UL communication. For example, as shown in Figure 5, the support node receives UL signals from ambient IoT devices and transmits the received UL signals to the base station. For DL ​​communication, ambient IoT devices receive DL signals directly from the base station.

[0036] The support nodes shown in Figures 4 and 5 may be, for example, relays, IAB nodes, UEs, repeaters, etc.

[0037] 6 is a diagram illustrating Topology 4. Topology 4 is a configuration in which a UE and an ambient IoT device communicate with each other. The ambient IoT device performs bidirectional communication with the UE. Communication related to Topology 4 may be considered as side link (SL) communication.

[0038] In the above topologies 1 to 4, the ambient IoT device may be provided with a carrier wave from another node inside or outside the topology (see Section 4.2.1 of Non-Patent Document 3).

[0039] The wireless communication system 1 (wireless communication network) may include, in addition to device 20, base stations, support nodes, intermediate nodes and / or terminals (UEs in topology 4). In this specification, base stations, support nodes, intermediate nodes and terminals may be read as network or (network) nodes. Also, an A-IoT device may be simply referred to as A-IoT.

[0040] <Backscatter transmission> Base stations, intermediate nodes, support nodes, and other nodes transmit RF signals to ambient IoT devices. Ambient IoT devices are activated and receive power from the RF operating field of the base station, intermediate nodes, support nodes, and other nodes via inductive coupling.

[0041] The ambient IoT device backscatters and modulates the RF signals received from the base station, intermediate node, support node, and other nodes by switching the reflection coefficient of the device's antenna, and transmits information to the base station, intermediate node, support node, and other nodes.

[0042] Figure 7 illustrates backscatter transmission. Figure 7 shows an example where an ambient IoT device performs ON-OFF keying and transmits information. The dashed area in Figure 7 represents the OFF interval, which may correspond to a "0" in the information (bits). A sinusoidal signal may correspond to a "1" in the information.

[0043] <Rel-19 SID> The Rel-19 SID (Study Item Description) examined solutions necessary and feasible for A-IoT (see Section 4.1 of Non-Patent Document 5). The examined solutions include, for example, determining which functions, procedures, etc. are necessary and which functions, procedures, etc. are not.

[0044] Additionally, for the DL and UL of A-IoT, several issues will be discussed under the leadership of RAN 1. One of the issues to be discussed is the scheduling and timing relationship between DL and UL in A-IoT. In discussing the scheduling and timing relationship, the following 1. traffic flow, 2. device assumptions, and 3. topology may be considered.

[0045] 1. Traffic Flow The following DT and DO-DTT are being considered as traffic flows for A-IoT.

[0046] DT (device terminated) Traffic includes transmission (DL) to the A-IoT UE, but no transmission (UL) from the A-IoT UE. In other words, there is information to be transmitted to the A-IoT UE, but no information to be transmitted from the A-IoT UE. DT corresponds to a command type in which there is an instruction such as a command or instruction to the A-IoT UE.

[0047] DO-DTT (device originated - device terminated triggered) Traffic includes a trigger from the network (NW) and a transmission (UL) from the A-IoT UE. In other words, traffic includes information transmitted from the A-IoT UE. DO-DTT corresponds to, for example, a sensor information report type in which the A-IoT UE transmits sensor information collected by the A-IoT UE.

[0048] In this disclosure, transmission of information corresponds to transmission of a signal containing information or transmission of a signal. In this disclosure, transmission to a certain device X corresponds to transmission of a signal (or information) to device X. In addition, transmission from a certain device X and transmission by a certain device X correspond to device X transmitting a signal (or information). In addition, reception from a certain device X corresponds to receiving a signal (or information) transmitted by device X. In addition, reception by a certain device X corresponds to device X receiving a signal (or information).

[0049] 2. Device Assumptions The following TX (transmission) and FR (frequency range) 1-FDD are assumed for A-IoT UE.

[0050] TX TX is a backscatter UL transmission without amplification or a backscatter UL transmission with amplification. Alternatively, a general UL transmission with amplification may be performed.

[0051] FR1-FDD FR1-FDD is applied to the A-IoT UE. That is, the A-IoT UE can switch carrier frequencies between DL carriers and UL carriers. However, the present disclosure is not limited to FR1-FDD and may be applied to TDD, FR2, or FR3.

[0052] The frequency bands of each FR are, for example, as follows: FR1: 410 MHz to 7.125 GHz FR2: 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz FR3: 7.125 GHz to 24.25 GHz

[0053] FR1 may use a sub-carrier spacing (SCS) of 15 kHz, 30 kHz, or 60 kHz, and a bandwidth (BW) of 5 to 100 MHz. FR2 is a higher frequency than FR1, and may use an SCS of 60 kHz or 120 kHz (including 240 kHz), and a bandwidth (BW) of 50 to 400 MHz.

[0054] 3. Topology Among the topologies shown in FIGS. 2 to 6, attention is focused on Topology 1 and Topology 2.

[0055] In Topology 1, UL and / or DL ​​communication is performed between a base station and an A-IoT UE without passing through an intermediate node. Note that the base station in Topology 1 may correspond to a microcell.

[0056] In Topology 2, communication is performed between a base station and an A-IoT UE via an intermediate node. The A-IoT UE performs bidirectional communication with an intermediate node located between the base station and the A-IoT UE. Note that the base station in the case of Topology 2 may correspond to a macrocell. The case of Topology 2 may also be applied to indoor cases. Hereinafter, the intermediate node will also be referred to as an intermediate UE, int. UE (intermediate UE), etc.

[0057] <Device Types> The following three device types, Device 1, Device 2a, and Device 2b, are defined for A-IoT devices.

[0058] Device 1 (may be referred to as Type 1) Device 1 is a device type that consumes a peak power of 1 μW or less. Device 1 has energy storage and an initial sampling frequency offset (SFO) of up to Z ppm (parts per million) (Z is 10 to the xth power (x is an integer equal to or greater than 0)). Device 1 does not have any amplification in either DL or UL. UL transmission in Device 1 is performed by backscattering an externally provided carrier wave (CW), i.e., an unmodulated wave.

[0059] Device 2a (may be referred to as type 2a) Device 2a is a device type that consumes a peak power of several hundred μW. Device 2a has energy storage and has an initial sampling frequency offset of up to Z [ppm] (Z is 10 to the xth power (x is an integer equal to or greater than 0)). Furthermore, DL and / or UL amplification is performed in device 2a. UL transmission in device 2a is performed by backscattering in CW provided from an external device.

[0060] Device 2b (may be referred to as type 2b) Device 2b is a device type that consumes a peak power of several hundred μW. Device 2b has energy storage and an initial sampling frequency offset of up to Z [ppm] (Z is 10 to the xth power (x is an integer equal to or greater than 0)). Furthermore, DL and / or UL amplification is performed in device 2b. UL transmission in device 2b is performed inside device 2b. In other words, UL transmission in device 2b does not need to be performed by backscattering in CW provided from an external source.

[0061] <Candidate Topologies> Next, we will describe the candidate topologies for CW / R2D / D2R transmission.

[0062] Fig. 8 is a diagram showing examples of candidate topologies for CW / R2D / D2R transmission in Topology 1. Fig. 8 shows Topology 1A, Topology 1B, Topology 1C, Topology 1D, and Topology 1E as examples of candidate topologies.

[0063] As shown in FIG. 8, in topologies 1A to 1E, CW / R2D communication signals (sometimes referred to as "R2D" in FIG. 8 and below) / D2R communication signals (sometimes referred to as "D2R" in FIG. 8 and below) can be transmitted and received to A-IoT devices.

[0064] In this embodiment, DL and R2D (reader to device) may be interchangeable, and UL and D2R (device to reader) may be interchangeable. Here, reader corresponds to BS and / or intermediate UE, and device corresponds to A-IoT device.

[0065] In topology 1A, the node transmitting CW (first BS) is different from the node receiving D2R communication signals transmitted by backscatter by the A-IoT device (second BS), while the node transmitting CW is the same as the node transmitting R2D communication signals. Also, the node transmitting R2D communication signals is different from the node receiving D2R communication signals transmitted by backscatter by the A-IoT device. In other words, the R in R2D and the R in D2R are different.

[0066] In topology 1B, the node transmitting CW (BS), the node transmitting R2D communication signals, and the node receiving D2R communication signals transmitted by backscatter from the A-IoT device are all the same.

[0067] In topology 1C, the node transmitting CW (CW node) is different from the node transmitting R2D communication signals (BS). Also in topology 1C, the node transmitting CW is different from the node receiving D2R communication signals transmitted by backscatter by A-IoT devices (BS). Also in topology 1C, the node transmitting R2D communication signals is the same as the node receiving D2R communication signals transmitted by backscatter by A-IoT devices. In other words, the R in R2D and the R in D2R are the same. Note that the CW node may be a BS / (intermediate) UE / IAB node / NCR (network-controlled repeater) node / relay node / other type of node.

[0068] In topology 1D, the node (BS) that transmits R2D communication signals is the same node that receives D2R communication signals generated and transmitted by the A-IoT device. In other words, the R in R2D and the R in D2R are the same.

[0069] In topology 1E, the node that transmits the R2D communication signal (first BS) is different from the node that receives the D2R communication signal generated and transmitted by the A-IoT device (second BS). In other words, the R in R2D and the R in D2R are different.

[0070] Figure 9 shows examples of candidate topologies for CW / R2D / D2R transmission in Topology 2. Figure 9 shows topologies 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, and 2E as examples of candidate topologies.

[0071] As shown in Figure 9, in topologies 2A to 2E, CW / R2D communication signals (labeled "R2D" in Figure 9) and D2R communication signals (labeled "D2R" in Figure 9) can be transmitted to and received from A-IoT devices.

[0072] In topology 2A, the node transmitting CW (first intermediate UE) is different from the node receiving D2R communication signals transmitted by backscatter from the A-IoT device (second intermediate UE), while the node transmitting CW is the same as the node transmitting R2D communication signals. Also, the node transmitting R2D communication signals is different from the node receiving D2R communication signals transmitted by backscatter from the A-IoT device. In other words, the R in R2D and the R in D2R are different.

[0073] In topology 2B, the node transmitting CW (intermediate UE), the node transmitting R2D communication signals, and the node receiving D2R communication signals transmitted by backscatter from A-IoT devices are all the same.

[0074] In Topology 2C, the node that transmits the CW (CW node) is different from the node that transmits the R2D communication signal (intermediate UE). Also, in Topology 1C, the node that transmits the CW is different from the node (BS) that receives the D2R communication signal transmitted by the A-IoT device via backscattering. Also, in Topology 1C, the node that transmits the R2D communication signal is the same as the node that receives the D2R communication signal transmitted by the A-IoT device via backscattering. In other words, the R in R2D and the R in D2R are the same. Note that the CW node may be a BS / (intermediate) UE / IAB node / NCR node / relay node / other type of node.

[0075] In topology 2D, the node that transmits R2D communication signals (intermediate UE) is the same node that receives D2R communication signals generated and transmitted by the A-IoT device. In other words, the R in R2D and the R in D2R are the same.

[0076] In topology 2E, the node that transmits the R2D communication signal (first intermediate UE) is different from the node that receives the D2R communication signal generated and transmitted by the A-IoT device (second intermediate UE). In other words, the R in R2D and the R in D2R are different.

[0077] <R2D Preamble Including Start Indicator Part and Clock Acquisition Part> For R2D transmission, an R2D timing acquisition signal is included in R2D for timing acquisition. This R2D timing acquisition signal, the R2D preamble, includes two parts: a start-indicator part and a clock-acquisition part.

[0078] For the R2D timing acquisition signal immediately prior to physical channel transmission, the preamble portion has at least two sections, including (1) a start indicator section and (2) a clock acquisition section. (1) Start Indicator Section The start indicator section is located immediately prior to the clock acquisition section and indicates the start of R2D transmission. A-IoT devices can identify the start indicator section and determine which section the R2D transmission begins from. There are two options for this start indicator section: (Option 1) The start indicator section is an ON / OFF pattern (i.e., high voltage / low voltage transmission) or (Option 2) The start indicator section is an OFF pattern (i.e., low voltage transmission). These patterns allow the A-IoT device to identify the start indicator section. (2) Clock Acquisition Section The clock acquisition section provides chip synchronization for at least subsequent physical channel transmissions. The clock acquisition section is used to determine the OOK chip duration.

[0079] ACK / NACK Feedback: The ACK / NACK feedback of the D2R corresponding to the signal of the R2D communication may be 1-bit information or a sequence-based signal, for example, where sequence A means ACK and sequence B means NACK.

[0080] "ACK / NACK" has the following meanings: - ACK: successful reception / decoding of the R2D message, successful completion of the device operation corresponding to the R2D message. - NACK: failure to receive / decode the R2D message, failure of the device operation corresponding to the R2D message. ACK / NACK feedback may be sent via PHY layer signaling or higher layer signaling.

[0081] <Timing of A-IoT R2D, D2R> In order for an A-IoT device to determine the timing of A-IoT R2D or D2R, it is agreed that the timing intervals / minimum time intervals / maximum time intervals for A-IoT R2D and D2R, D2R and R2D, R2D and R2D, and D2R and D2R are defined / expressed as follows:

[0082] For further discussion, the following terms are used in the discussion of processing time for A-IoT devices: T Ｒ２Ｄ＿ｍｉｎ : The minimum time between an R2D transmission and a corresponding subsequent D2R transmission T Ｄ２Ｒ＿ｍｉｎ : The minimum time between a D2R transmission and a corresponding subsequent R2D transmission T Ｒ２Ｄ＿Ｒ２Ｄ＿ｍｉｎ : The minimum time between two different consecutive R2D transmissions to the same A-IoT device, T Ｄ２Ｒ＿Ｄ２Ｒ＿ｍｉｎ : The minimum time between two different consecutive D2R transmissions from the same A-IoT device

[0083] If an R2D transmission is expected in response to a D2R transmission as a response of an A-IoT Msg2 to an A-IoT Msg1 of an A-IoT device, the maximum time T between a D2R transmission and a subsequent corresponding R2D transmission is Ｄ２Ｒ＿ｍａｘ and the R2D transmission timing is defined as [T Ｄ２Ｒ＿ｍｉｎ , T Ｄ２Ｒ＿ｍａｘ ]. It is not yet decided whether it is necessary to define different maximum times for different A-IoT devices.

[0084] Regarding the time interval between an R2D transmission and a subsequent corresponding D2R transmission, consider the following options 1 and 2: (Option 1): The maximum time T between an R2D transmission and a subsequent corresponding D2R transmission Ｒ２Ｄ＿ｍａｘ Defines the device, and the device is [T Ｒ２Ｄ＿ｍｉｎ , T Ｒ２Ｄ＿ｍａｘ (Option 2): The D2R transmission is performed within the corresponding D2R transmission timing T Ｒ２Ｄ is determined based on the control information of the R2D transmission, where T Ｒ２Ｄ ≧T Ｒ２Ｄ＿ｍｉｎ is.

[0085] <Structure of A-IoT R2D, D2R> As shown in Figure 11(1), the R2D transmission signal consists of an R2D preamble (including the R2D start indicator portion and the R2D clock capture portion), R2D control, R2D data, and an R2D postamble. An R2D midamble may also be included.

[0086] As shown in Fig. 11 (2), the D2R transmission signal is composed of a D2R preamble, a D2R control, D2R data, and a D2R postamble. A D2R midamble may also be included.

[0087] <Explanation of terms> Here, the terms used in relation to the A-IoT mentioned above will be explained.

[0088] A-IoT device or device: a device included in an A-IoT system, having any of the multiple device types, as described above.

[0089] Reader: A D2R receiver reader can be either a BS or a UE. A UE that acts as a reader may be called an intermediate UE. The R2D transmitter and D2R receiver may be the same node or different nodes.

[0090] R2D: Abbreviation for Reader-to-Device link. PRDCH: Abbreviation for physical R2D channel. D2R: Abbreviation for Device-to-Reader link. PDRCH: Abbreviation for physical D2R channel.

[0091] DT traffic: Abbreviation for Device Terminated traffic. DT traffic is, for example, a command from the reader.

[0092] DO-DTT traffic: Device Originated-Device Terminated Trigger DO-DTT traffic is, for example, inventory traffic.

[0093] Timing acquisition signal / preamble / midamble / postamble / synchronization signal can be interchanged.

[0094] <Analysis> As mentioned above, a "time window" is determined based on the time interval of a transmitted / received signal. However, the criteria by which this time interval is determined for a transmitted / received signal (hereinafter referred to as a "transmitted / received signal with time constraints") have not been clearly defined. Therefore, by setting a reference point that serves as a reference for the time interval in the transmitted / received signal with time constraints, the relationship between each reference point of the transmitted / received signal with time constraints and the time interval defined / displayed for the transmitted / received signal with time constraints is clarified.

[0095] For example, as shown in Figure 10, when an A-IoT device receives an R2D signal including R2D control information from a reader side such as a base station, the A-IoT device transmits a D2R signal based on the R2D control information. Ｒ２Ｄ＿ｍｉｎ From T Ｒ２Ｄ＿ｍａｘ The A-IoT device transmits a D2R signal to the reader side within "time windows" separated by the time from the R2D preamble of the R2D signal received from the reader side. In this case, the A-IoT device sets the end time of the R2D preamble of the R2D signal received from the reader side as a first reference point, which is the starting point of the time interval T, and the end time of the D2R preamble of the D2R signal transmitted to the reader side as a second reference point, which is the end point of the time interval T. The A-IoT device then assumes that the time from the end time of the R2D preamble of the R2D signal to the end time of the D2R preamble of the D2R signal is the time interval T from receiving the R2D signal to transmitting the D2R signal. The A-IoT device then transmits a D2R signal to the reader side at the time interval T within the "time window" period. In this way, by setting first and second reference points in a transmission / reception signal having a time constraint, the time interval can be clearly determined based on the first and second reference points, thereby clarifying the relationship between the first and second reference points and the defined / displayed time interval.

[0096] When setting a reference point in a transmitted or received signal, the question arises as to what timing of the signal to use as the reference point. In particular, when the head (beginning) or tail (end) of the transmitted or received signal is used as the first reference point, the following two problems may arise.

[0097] (Problem 1) When the start time of the "ON" portion of the R2D start indicator portion is used as the first reference point, the "ON" portion of the R2D start indicator portion may not be included in the time interval.

[0098] The R2D signal is an on-off waveform based on OOK (On Off Keying). Therefore, the R2D start indicator portion may be an on-off pattern, and the "ON" duration may be variable and relatively long. If the receiving A-IoT device is not fully prepared for reception and cannot accurately acquire the start portion of the first signal, it may not be able to recognize the "ON" portion as part of the signal duration, and therefore the "ON" portion may not be counted in the time interval. Therefore, the start time of the "ON" portion of the R2D start indicator portion may not be used as the first reference point (see Figure 12 (1) (a)).

[0099] (Issue 2) If the end time of R2D's postamble is taken as the first reference point, if a NACK judgment is made because the end point of R2D's signal cannot be recognized, the A-IoT device may not be able to recognize the first reference point or the time interval, and may not be able to determine the timing related to control.

[0100] When the A-IoT device returns a NACK, it may be unable to recognize the end point of the R2D signal (the end time of the R2D postamble). If the A-IoT device cannot recognize the end point of the R2D signal (the end time of the R2D postamble), even if it tries to determine the time interval based on the end time of the R2D postamble (the end point of the R2D signal), it cannot recognize the end time of the R2D postamble (the end point of the R2D signal), which serves as the first reference point. Therefore, it may be impossible to recognize the R2D time interval and determine the timing related to control. Therefore, for a D2R NACK, a special first reference point different from other D2Rs may be required, such as not using the end time of the R2D postamble as the first reference point (see FIG. 12 (1) (g)).

[0101] In addition, when assuming the time intervals described above for D2R transmissions (other than NACKs) in response to R2D, it is considered useful to use the R2D postamble (end point) as the first reference point.

[0102] In addition to the above issues 1 and 2, the following issues also need to be considered:

[0103] In R2D control in which the device side transmits a D2R signal as a response to an R2D signal transmitted from the reader side, the time interval until the response can be determined by a first reference point of any one of the R2D signals and a second reference point of any one of the D2R signals corresponding to the R2D signal. In this case, the transmission of the D2R signal by the device side is executed after data processing of the R2D signal is completed, so the time interval until the device side transmits a D2R signal as a response to the R2D signal transmitted from the reader side takes into account the time until the device side completes data processing of the R2D signal.

[0104] The following proposal applies at least to the following time intervals (1) to (4): (1) The time / max / min between an R2D transmission and a subsequent corresponding D2R transmission, where the corresponding D2R is: - D2R data triggered / requested / scheduled by R2D - D2R ACK / NACK feedback / response to R2D - D2R Msg. 1 triggering a contention-based procedure by R2D - D2R Msg. 3 to R2D Msg. 2 (2) The time / max / min between a D2R transmission and a subsequent corresponding R2D transmission, where the corresponding R2D is: - R2D Msg. 2 to D2R Msg. 1 - R2D Msg. 3 to D2R Msg. 3 4 - R2D ACK / NACK feedback / response to D2R (3) Applies to time / max / min between two consecutive different R2Ds. (4) Applies to time / max / min between two consecutive different D2Rs.

[0105] The different alternatives in the following proposals may be applicable to different types of R2D / D2R (including different alternatives for ACK / NACK) or under different conditions.

[0106] The items described in the following proposals may be combined as appropriate as long as no contradictions arise.

[0107] In the following suggestions, the options may be combined as appropriate.

[0108] In the proposals below, different options may be applied on a case-by-case basis.

[0109] In the following proposal, the indication / configuration may be carried by physical (PHY) layer control information or higher layer payload (e.g., MAC (Medium Access Control) layer control information, Msg0 (paging), Msg2 (RAR (Random Access Response)), Msg4, unicast data, etc.).

[0110] In the following proposal, the display on R2D may have the same meaning as above.

[0111] In the following proposal, the indication / configuration may be conveyed by the PRDCH or the R2D timing acquisition signal (preamble / midamble / postamble) / synchronization signal.

[0112] In the following proposal, a slot may be a 1 ms time interval (i.e., one slot in OFDM) or a slot in slotted ALOHA, or any other time domain unit consisting of one or more symbols.

[0113] In the following proposal, a symbol may be one OFDM symbol, M chips for OOK, or one modulation symbol for PSF / FSK.

[0114] In the following proposals, different alternatives / options may apply to R2D and D2R.

[0115] In the suggestions below, different alternatives / options may apply depending on the device type.

[0116] In the following proposals, different alternatives / options may apply to different connection topologies.

[0117] In the following proposal, different alternatives / options may be applied to different R2D / D2R channels (PRDCH: PHY channel for R2D control, PDRCH: PHY channel for D2R control).

[0118] In the following proposal, different alternatives / options may apply for different R2D / D2R information / formats / commands (R2D data, R2D control, R2D system information, R2D information triggering contention-based access, D2R data, D2R control, D2R ACK / NACK response, D2R response in contention-based access (Msg.1 / Msg.3)).

[0119] Hereinafter, "CW / R2D / D2R transmission" may be referred to as communication in a wireless communication system including an A-IoT device, communication of an A-IoT device, communication with an A-IoT device, communication involving an A-IoT device, etc.

[0120] In the following, notifications may be carried in the physical (PHY) layer / MAC layer / Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer / a new layer defined for A-IoT.

[0121] <Proposal> For the time interval between R2D / D2R and D2R / R2D, the R2D reference point and the D2R reference point may be defined as follows: - A time interval is the time interval between two reference points. - Reference point: For transmitted / received signals (TX / RX) with duration, the "reference point" indicates what timing within the duration of the transmitted / received signal is used to determine the time interval.

[0122] The R2D reference points can be the start / end times of the following reader transmissions / device receptions (see Figure 12(1)(a)-(g)): - R2D preamble (see Figure 12(1)(a)-(d)) - R2D start indicator portion (see Figure 12(1)(a)-(c)) - R2D clock acquisition portion (see Figure 12(1)(c)-(d)) - R2D control (see Figure 12(1)(d)-(e)) - R2D data (see Figure 12(1)(e)-(f)) - R2D postamble (see Figure 12(1)(f)-(g)) - R2D midamble - Some of the above components of R2D transmissions - Example: "ON" part of R2D start indicator (R2D start indicator is an ON-OFF pattern) (See Figure 12 (1) (a) to (b)) - Example: "OFF" part of R2D start indicator (R2D start indicator is an ON-OFF pattern) (See Figure 12 (1) (b) to (c)) R2D resource candidate / R2D resource candidate window Maximum available time for R2D transmission

[0123] The reference point for R2D may also be X hours before / after the start / end time (see Figure 13 (1)), where X is a fixed value defined by the system / specification, the capabilities of the A-IoT device, or a configured / instructed value.

[0124] For the time interval between the first R2D and the second R2D, the same reference point may apply to the first R2D and the second R2D, or alternatively, different reference points may apply, for example, the time interval may be between the end of the postamble of the first R2D and the start of the preamble of the second R2D.

[0125] The D2R reference points can be the start / end times of transmission at the device / reception at the reader (see Figure 12(2)(h)-(l)): D2R preamble (see Figure 12(2)(h)-(i)); D2R control (see Figure 12(2)(i)-(j)); D2R data (see Figure 12(2)(j)-(k)); D2R postamble (see Figure 12(2)(k)-(l)); D2R midamble; some of the above components of D2R transmission; D2R resource candidates / D2R resource candidate window; Maximum available time for D2R transmission.

[0126] The D2R reference point may also be X hours before / after the start / end time (see Figure 13 (2)), where X is a fixed value defined by the system / specification, the A-IoT device function, or a set / instructed value.

[0127] For the time interval between the first D2R and the second D2R, the same reference point may be applied to the first D2R and the second D2R, or alternatively, different reference points may be applied.

[0128] <Proposal 1> 1. This proposal may be applied to the operation of an A-IoT device in determining the timing of R2D / D2R. Here, the operation of the A-IoT device may be any of the following (1) to (3).

[0129] (1) The A-IoT device may determine, based on the R2D control information, that the time interval between the R2D / D2R reference point A and the R2D / D2R reference point B is T.

[0130] The A-IoT device transmits the D2R signal after the processing of the R2D control information is completed. In other words, the transmission of the D2R signal by the A-IoT device takes into consideration the time until the processing of the R2D control information is completed. The time interval T until the device transmits the D2R signal in response to the R2D signal transmitted from the reader is determined as the time interval between reference point A of the R2D signal and reference point B of the D2R signal, and the length of the time interval T is determined by the device based on the R2D control information (e.g., taking into consideration the time until the processing of the R2D control information is completed) (see FIG. 14(1)).

[0131] (2) The A-IoT device determines whether the time interval T between the R2D / D2R reference point A and the R2D / D2R reference point B is [T ｍｉｎ , T ｍａｘ ]. D2R transmission or R2D reception may occur within a time window that is within .

[0132] In response to receiving the R2D signal from the reader, the A-IoT device ｍｉｎ Over an hour, T ｍａｘ It is assumed that the D2R signal is transmitted within a time period, and the time interval T from the reference point A of the transmitted R2D signal to the reference point B of the D2R signal to be transmitted is T ｍｉｎ Over an hour, T ｍａｘ The A-IoT device transmits a D2R signal so that it falls within a time window within T ｍｉｎ Over an hour, T ｍａｘ The condition for the time within the time window [T ｍｉｎ , T ｍａｘ ] or less (see Figure 14 (2)).

[0133] (3) The A-IoT device determines whether the time interval between the R2D / D2R reference point A and the R2D / D2R reference point B is [T ｍｉｎ , T ｍａｘ ].

[0134] As shown in Figure 14 (2), the time interval T between reference point A of the R2D signal received by the A-IoT device from the reader side and reference point B of the D2R signal sent by the A-IoT device in response is T ｍｉｎ Over an hour, T ｍａｘ The time is within the time window [T ｍｉｎ , T ｍａｘ ] or less (see Figure 14 (3)).

[0135] 2. This proposal may also be applied to the operation of an intermediate UE when determining the timing of R2D / D2R. Here, transmission and reception using Topology 2 (see Figure 3) is assumed, in which a base station (BS) and an A-IoT device communicate via an intermediate UE. Here, the operation of the intermediate UE may be any of the following (1) to (3).

[0136] (1) The intermediate UE may determine, based on control information from a BS (Base Station), that the time interval between R2D / D2R reference point A and R2D / D2R reference point B is T.

[0137] When an intermediate UE transmits a D2R signal based on the R2D control information of an R2D signal instead of an A-IoT device, the time interval T until the intermediate UE transmits a D2R signal in response to the R2D signal transmitted from a reader side such as a base station is determined as the time interval between reference point A of the R2D signal and reference point B of the D2R signal, and the length of the time interval T is determined by the intermediate UE based on the R2D control information (e.g., taking into account the time until processing of the R2D control information is completed).

[0138] (2) The intermediate UE determines whether the time interval between R2D / D2R reference point A and R2D / D2R reference point B is [T ｍｉｎ , T ｍａｘ ].

[0139] In response to an R2D signal transmitted from a reader side such as a base station, the intermediate UE transmits a D2R signal within a predetermined time. ｍｉｎ Over an hour, T ｍａｘwithin a time window [T ｍｉｎ , T ｍａｘ ]), the intermediate UE sends a D2R signal in response.

[0140] (3) The intermediate UE determines whether the time interval between R2D / D2R reference point A and R2D / D2R reference point B is [T ｍｉｎ , T ｍａｘ ].

[0141] (Effect) According to Proposal 1, in a communication system including an A-IoT device and its intermediate UE, the relationship between each reference point and time interval of the R2D / D2R transmitted and received is clarified, so that based on the clarified reference points and time intervals of the R2D / D2R, readers such as base stations, A-IoT devices, and intermediate UEs can appropriately recognize the timing of transmitting and receiving signals.

[0142] <Proposal 2> In the case of R2D / D2R, in a communication system including an A-IoT device and its intermediate UE, multiple time intervals / minimum time intervals / maximum time intervals according to multiple reference points may be applied simultaneously.

[0143] In particular, when an A-IoT device or intermediate UE assumes multiple conditions related to transmission and reception, multiple time intervals / minimum time intervals / maximum time intervals corresponding to multiple reference points may be applied simultaneously.

[0144] For example, the A-IoT device may be configured to detect the time interval T between R2D / D2R reference point A and R2D / D2R reference point B. １ At the same time, the A-IoT device may determine the time interval T between the R2D / D2R reference point C and the R2D / D2R reference point D. ２ [T ｍｉｎ , T ｍａｘ ] or less (see FIG. 15(1)).

[0145] The A-IoT device or intermediate UE shown in FIG. 15(1) is １ The condition (a) for R2D / D2R transmission based on the time interval T ２ is the time interval [Tｍｉｎ , T ｍａｘ ], and derives condition (b) for transmitting R2D / D2R when the condition (a) and the condition (b) are included within the range. Then, if the A-IoT device or the intermediate UE matches the condition (a) and the condition (b), the A-IoT device or the intermediate UE transmits D2R based on the condition (a) and the condition (b), and if the conditions do not match, the A-IoT device does not transmit D2R.

[0146] For example, the time interval T between reference point A of R2D / D2R and reference point B of R2D / D2R ３ is [T ｍｉｎ１ , T ｍａｘ１ At the same time, the time interval T between the reference point C of the R2D / D2R and the reference point D of the R2D / D2R ４ is [T ｍｉｎ２ , T ｍａｘ２ ] or less (see FIG. 15(2)).

[0147] As described above, the operation of the A-IoT device or intermediate UE shown in Figure 15 (2) also applies to the case where there are multiple conditions related to transmission and reception, and when multiple conditions are met, the A-IoT device or intermediate UE performs control such as transmission according to the multiple conditions.

[0148] For example, the time interval between the R2D control and the corresponding D2R response may be determined based on the R2D control information. At the same time, the time interval between the R2D data and the corresponding D2R is [T ｍｉｎ , T ｍａｘ ] or less.

[0149] Similar to Proposal 1 above, this proposal may apply not only to the behavior of A-IoT devices, but also to the behavior of intermediate UEs when determining the timing of R2D / D2R.

[0150] (Effect) According to Proposal 2, in a communication system including an A-IoT device and its intermediate UE, the relationship between each reference point of the R2D / D2R being transmitted and received and the time interval is clarified, and multiple time intervals between multiple reference points of the R2D / D2R being transmitted and received can be applied simultaneously.Therefore, even when the timing of transmission and reception is determined based on multiple conditions according to communication control, readers such as base stations, A-IoT devices, and intermediate UEs can appropriately recognize and determine the timing of transmission and reception of signals.

[0151] <Device Configuration> Next, the configurations of the base station 10 and the device 20 will be described. Note that the configurations of the base station 10 and the device 20 described below are examples of functions related to this embodiment. The base station 10 and the device 20 may have functions not shown. Furthermore, the functional divisions and / or names of the functional units are not limited as long as the functions perform the operations related to this embodiment.

[0152] <Configuration of Base Station> Fig. 16 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a base station 10 according to an embodiment. The base station 10 includes, for example, a transmitting unit 101, a receiving unit 102, and a control unit 103. The base station 10 communicates with the device 20 (see Fig. 17) wirelessly. The base station 10 may be a terminal (an intermediate UE communicating with the device 20) or a CW node.

[0153] The transmitter 101 transmits a downlink (DL) signal to the device 20. For example, the transmitter 101 transmits the DL signal under the control of the controller 103.

[0154] The DL signal may include, for example, a downlink data signal and control information (e.g., DCI (Downlink Control Information)). The DL signal may also include information indicating scheduling related to signal transmission of the device 20 (e.g., an UL grant). The DL signal may also include control information of higher layers (e.g., control information of RRC (Radio Resource Control)). The DL signal may also include a reference signal.

[0155] The channels used for transmitting DL signals include, for example, a data channel and a control channel. For example, the data channel may include a PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel), and the control channel may include a PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel). For example, the base station 10 transmits control information to the device 20 using the PDCCH and transmits downlink data signals using the PDSCH.

[0156] The reference signal included in the DL signal may include at least one of, for example, a Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS), a Phase Tracking Reference Signal (PTRS), a Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS), a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), and a Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) for position information. For example, reference signals such as the DMRS and PTRS are used for demodulating downlink data signals and are transmitted using the PDSCH.

[0157] The receiving unit 102 receives an uplink (UL) signal transmitted from the device 20. For example, the receiving unit 102 receives the UL signal under the control of the control unit 103.

[0158] The control unit 103 controls the communication operations of the base station 10 , including the transmission processing of the transmission unit 101 and the reception processing of the reception unit 102 .

[0159] For example, the control unit 103 acquires information such as data and control information from the upper layer and outputs it to the transmitting unit 101. The control unit 103 also outputs the data, control information, etc. received from the receiving unit 102 to the upper layer.

[0160] For example, the control unit 103 allocates resources (or channels) used for transmitting and receiving DL signals and / or resources used for transmitting and receiving UL signals based on signals (e.g., data and control information, etc.) received from the device 20 and / or data and control information, etc. acquired from a higher layer. Information on the allocated resources may be included in control information transmitted to the device 20.

[0161] The control unit 103 configures PUCCH resources as an example of allocation of resources used for transmitting and receiving UL signals. Information related to the configuration of the PUCCH, such as a PUCCH cell timing pattern (PUCCH configuration information), may be notified to the device 20 by RRC.

[0162] Here, the transmitting unit 101 and the receiving unit 102 (which may be collectively referred to as a communication unit) communicate with the device 20 .

[0163] For example, the transmitting unit 101 may transmit information regarding frequency resources used for communication involving an A-IoT device to the device 20, etc.

[0164] Furthermore, for example, the communication unit may use the above frequency resources to perform communication involving an A-IoT device.

[0165] 17 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the device 20 according to the embodiment. The device 20 includes, for example, a receiving unit 201, a transmitting unit 202, and a control unit 203. The device 20 communicates with, for example, the base station 10 wirelessly. The device 20 may be a terminal (for example, an intermediate UE) or a CW node.

[0166] The receiving unit 201 receives a DL signal transmitted from the base station 10. For example, the receiving unit 201 receives the DL signal under the control of the control unit 203.

[0167] The transmitting unit 202 transmits the UL signal to the base station 10. For example, the transmitting unit 202 transmits the UL signal under the control of the control unit 203.

[0168] The UL signal may include, for example, an uplink data signal and control information (e.g., UCI (Uplink Control Information)). For example, information related to the processing capability of the device 20 (e.g., A-IoT capability) may be included. The UL signal may also include a reference signal.

[0169] The channels used for transmitting UL signals include, for example, a data channel and a control channel. For example, the data channel may include a PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel), and the control channel may include a PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel). For example, the device 20 transmits control information from the base station 10 using the PUCCH and transmits uplink data signals using the PUSCH.

[0170] The reference signal included in the UL signal may include, for example, at least one of a DMRS, a PTRS, a CSI-RS, an SRS, and a PRS. For example, the reference signal such as the DMRS or the PTRS is used for demodulating an uplink data signal and is transmitted using an uplink channel (for example, a PUSCH).

[0171] The control unit 203 controls the communication operations of the device 20 , including the reception processing in the receiving unit 201 and the transmission processing in the transmitting unit 202 .

[0172] For example, the control unit 203 acquires information such as data and control information from the upper layer and outputs it to the transmitting unit 202. Also, the control unit 203 outputs, for example, the data and control information received from the receiving unit 201 to the upper layer.

[0173] For example, the control unit 203 controls transmission of information to be fed back to the base station 10. The information to be fed back to the base station 10 may include, for example, HARQ ACK / NACK, Channel State Information (CSI), or a Scheduling Request (SR). The information to be fed back to the base station 10 may be included in UCI. The UCI is transmitted, for example, in PUCCH resources.

[0174] Control unit 203 configures PUCCH resources based on configuration information (for example, configuration information such as a PUCCH cell timing pattern and / or DCI notified by RRC) received from base station 10. Control unit 203 determines PUCCH resources to be used for transmitting information to be fed back to base station 10. Under the control of control unit 203, transmission unit 202 transmits the information to be fed back to base station 10 in the PUCCH resources determined by control unit 203.

[0175] Note that the channel used for transmitting the DL signal and the channel used for transmitting the UL signal are not limited to the above-mentioned examples. For example, the channel used for transmitting the DL signal and the channel used for transmitting the UL signal may include a Random Access Channel (RACH) and a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH). The RACH may be used to transmit DCI including a Random Access Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RA-RNTI), for example.

[0176] Here, the receiving unit 201 and the transmitting unit 202 (which may be collectively referred to as a communication unit) communicate with the network, such as the base station 10 and intermediate UEs.

[0177] For example, the receiver 201 may receive information regarding frequency resources to be used for communication involving the A-IoT device from the base station 10 or the network of intermediate UEs, and the controller 203 may determine the frequency resources to be used for communication involving the A-IoT device based on the information received by the receiver 201. The frequency resources to be used for communication involving the A-IoT device may be one frequency resource, a plurality of contiguous frequency resources, or a plurality of non-contiguous frequency resources, and may include a first frequency resource used in a first frequency hop and a second frequency resource used in a second frequency hop.

[0178] Also, for example, the communication unit may use frequency resources determined by the control unit 203 to perform communication involving an A-IoT device.

[0179] (Summary of embodiment) A device according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a device of lower complexity than an NB-IoT (Narrow Band Internet of Things) device, and comprises: a receiving unit that receives a received signal including control information from a wireless communication device; a control unit that sets a first reference point, which is the timing on the reception time of the received signal and is the start point of a time interval, and a second reference point, which is the end point of the time interval; and a transmitting unit that transmits a transmission signal to the wireless communication device at a transmission time that includes the second reference point, wherein the control unit sets the time interval based on the control information, and sets the second reference point based on the first reference point and the time interval.

[0180] With the above configuration, the A-IoT device can accurately share the timing of transmission and reception with the wireless communication device.

[0181] In one example, the control unit sets the start time or end time of the preamble, the control information, the data region, the midamble, the postamble, or a part of the component of the received signal as the first reference point, and sets the start time or end time of the preamble, the control information, the data region, the midamble, the postamble, or a part of the component of the transmitted signal as the second reference point.

[0182] In one example, the control unit sets the time interval to a time that is longer than the time required for the processing of the control information to be completed.

[0183] In one example, the control unit sets the second reference point so that the time interval falls within a time window indicated by a minimum time interval and a maximum time interval.

[0184] A communication method according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a device with lower complexity than an NB-IoT (Narrow Band Internet of Things) device, which receives a received signal including control information from a wireless communication device, sets a time interval based on the control information, sets a first reference point that is the timing on the reception time of the received signal and that is the starting point of the time interval, and a second reference point that is the end point of the time interval, sets the second reference point based on the first reference point and the time interval, and transmits a transmission signal to the wireless communication device at a transmission time that includes the second reference point.

[0185] The present disclosure has been described above. Note that the division of items in the above description is not essential to the present disclosure, and items described in two or more items may be used in combination as needed, and items described in one item may be applied to items described in another item (unless they are inconsistent).

[0186] <Hardware Configuration, etc.> The block diagrams used to explain the above embodiments show functional blocks. These functional blocks (components) are realized by any combination of at least one of hardware and software. Furthermore, the method for realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be realized using a single device that is physically or logically coupled, or may be realized using two or more physically or logically separated devices that are directly or indirectly connected (e.g., using wires, wirelessly, etc.) and these multiple devices. The functional block may also be realized by combining software with the single device or the multiple devices.

[0187] Functions include, but are not limited to, judgment, determination, judgment, calculation, computation, processing, derivation, investigation, search, confirmation, reception, transmission, output, access, resolution, selection, selection, establishment, comparison, assumption, expectation, consideration, broadcasting, notifying, communicating, forwarding, configuring, reconfiguring, allocating, mapping, and assignment. For example, a functional block (component) that performs transmission is called a transmitting unit or transmitter. As mentioned above, there are no particular limitations on how these functions are implemented.

[0188] For example, a base station, a device, etc. according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may function as a computer that performs processing of the wireless communication method of the present disclosure. Fig. 18 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a base station and a device according to the embodiment. The above-described base station 10 and device 20 may be physically configured as a computer including a processor 1001, a memory 1002, a storage 1003, a communication device 1004, an input device 1005, an output device 1006, a bus 1007, etc.

[0189] In the following description, the term "apparatus" can be interpreted as a circuit, a device, a unit, etc. The hardware configuration of the base station 10 and the device 20 may be configured to include one or more of the apparatuses shown in the drawings, or may be configured to exclude some of the apparatuses.

[0190] Each function in the base station 10 and the device 20 is realized by loading specified software (programs) onto hardware such as the processor 1001 and memory 1002, causing the processor 1001 to perform calculations, control communication by the communication device 1004, and control at least one of reading and writing data in the memory 1002 and storage 1003.

[0191] The processor 1001 controls the entire computer by running, for example, an operating system. The processor 1001 may be configured by a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with peripheral devices, a control device, an arithmetic unit, a register, etc. For example, the above-mentioned control unit 103 and control unit 203 may be realized by the processor 1001.

[0192] The processor 1001 also reads programs (program codes), software modules, data, etc. from at least one of the storage 1003 and the communication device 1004 into the memory 1002 and executes various processes in accordance with the programs. The programs used are those that cause a computer to execute at least some of the operations described in the above-described embodiments. For example, the control unit 103 of the base station 10 and the control unit 203 of the device 20 may be implemented by a control program stored in the memory 1002 and running on the processor 1001, and similar implementations may be used for other functional blocks. While the above-described various processes have been described as being executed by one processor 1001, they may also be executed simultaneously or sequentially by two or more processors 1001. The processor 1001 may be implemented by one or more chips. The programs may also be transmitted from a network via a telecommunications line.

[0193] The memory 1002 is a computer-readable recording medium and may be configured by, for example, at least one of a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), a random access memory (RAM), etc. The memory 1002 may also be called a register, a cache, a main memory (primary storage device), etc. The memory 1002 can store executable programs (program codes), software modules, etc. for implementing a wireless communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0194] Storage 1003 is a computer-readable recording medium, and may be composed of at least one of, for example, an optical disk such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc ROM), a hard disk drive, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk (e.g., a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a Blu-ray (registered trademark) disk), a smart card, a flash memory (e.g., a card, a stick, a key drive), a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a magnetic strip, etc. Storage 1003 may also be referred to as an auxiliary storage device. The above-mentioned storage medium may be, for example, a database, a server, or other appropriate medium including at least one of memory 1002 and storage 1003.

[0195] The communication device 1004 is hardware (transmission / reception device) for communicating between computers via at least one of a wired network and a wireless network, and is also referred to as, for example, a network device, a network controller, a network card, a communication module, etc. The communication device 1004 may be configured to include a high-frequency switch, a duplexer, a filter, a frequency synthesizer, etc. to realize at least one of frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD). For example, the above-mentioned transmitter 101, receiver 102, receiver 201, transmitter 202, etc. may be realized by the communication device 1004.

[0196] The input device 1005 is an input device (e.g., a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a switch, a button, a sensor, etc.) that receives input from the outside. The output device 1006 is an output device (e.g., a display, a speaker, an LED lamp, etc.) that outputs to the outside. The input device 1005 and the output device 1006 may be integrated into one device (e.g., a touch panel).

[0197] Furthermore, each device, such as the processor 1001 and the memory 1002, is connected by a bus 1007 for communicating information. The bus 1007 may be configured using a single bus, or may be configured using different buses between each device.

[0198] Furthermore, the base station 10 and the device 20 may be configured to include hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a field programmable gate array (FPGA), and some or all of the functional blocks may be realized by the hardware. For example, the processor 1001 may be implemented using at least one of these pieces of hardware.

[0199] <Notification of Information, Signaling> Notification of information is not limited to the embodiments described in the present disclosure and may be performed using other methods. For example, notification of information may be performed by physical layer signaling (e.g., Downlink Control Information (DCI), Uplink Control Information (UCI)), higher layer signaling (e.g., Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, Medium Access Control (MAC) signaling, broadcast information (Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB))), other signals, or a combination thereof. Furthermore, RRC signaling may be referred to as an RRC message, and may be, for example, an RRC Connection Setup message, an RRC Connection Reconfiguration message, or the like.

[0200] <Applicable Systems> The embodiments described in the present disclosure are applicable to LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4G (4th generation mobile communication system), 5G (5th generation mobile communication system), 6th generation mobile communication system (6G), xth generation mobile communication system (xG) (xG (x is, for example, an integer or a decimal)), FRA (Future Radio Access), NR (new Radio), New radio access (NX), Future generation radio access (FX), W-CDMA (registered trademark), GSM (registered trademark), CDMA2000, UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.17 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.19 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.20 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.21 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.22 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.23 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.24 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.25 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.26 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.27 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.28 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.29 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.30 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.31 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.32 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.33 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.34 (WiMAX (registered trademark The present invention may be applied to at least one of systems using 802.20, UWB (Ultra-Wide Band), Bluetooth (registered trademark), or other suitable systems, and next-generation systems that are extended, modified, created, or defined based on these systems. The present invention may also be applied to a combination of multiple systems (e.g., a combination of LTE and / or LTE-A with 5G).

[0201] <Processing Procedures, etc.> The processing procedures, sequences, flowcharts, etc. of each aspect / embodiment described in this disclosure may be rearranged unless inconsistent. For example, the methods described in this disclosure present elements of various steps using an example order, and are not limited to the particular order presented.

[0202] <Operation of Base Station> In the present disclosure, specific operations described as being performed by a base station may also be performed by its upper node in some cases. In a network consisting of one or more network nodes having a base station, it is clear that various operations performed for communication with a terminal may be performed by at least one of the base station and another network node other than the base station (for example, an MME or an S-GW, etc., but are not limited to these). Although the above example illustrates a case where there is one other network node other than the base station, a combination of multiple other network nodes (for example, an MME and an S-GW) may also be used.

[0203] <Direction of Input / Output> Information, etc. (see <Information, Signal>) can be output from a higher layer (or a lower layer) to a lower layer (or a higher layer). It may also be input / output via multiple network nodes.

[0204] <Handling of Input / Output Information, etc.> Input / output information, etc. may be stored in a specific location (for example, memory) or may be managed using a management table. Input / output information, etc. may be overwritten, updated, or added. Output information, etc. may be deleted. Input information, etc. may be sent to another device.

[0205] <Determination method> The determination may be made based on a value represented by one bit (0 or 1), a Boolean value (true or false), or a numerical comparison (e.g., comparison with a predetermined value).

[0206] <Variations of Aspects, etc.> Each aspect / embodiment described in the present disclosure may be used alone, in combination, or switched depending on the implementation. In addition, notification of predetermined information (e.g., notification that "X is true") is not limited to being done explicitly, but may be done implicitly (e.g., by not notifying the predetermined information).

[0207] Although the present disclosure has been described in detail above, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described herein. The present disclosure can be implemented in modified and altered forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the claims. Therefore, the description of the present disclosure is intended to be illustrative and does not have any limiting meaning on the present disclosure.

[0208] <Software> Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise.

[0209] Software, instructions, information, etc. may also be transmitted or received over a transmission medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using wired technologies (such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)), and / or wireless technologies (such as infrared, microwave), then these wired and / or wireless technologies are included within the definition of transmission media.

[0210] Information, Signals, etc., described in this disclosure may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc., which may be referred to throughout the above description, may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or photons, or any combination thereof.

[0211] Note that terms described in this disclosure and terms necessary for understanding this disclosure may be replaced with terms having the same or similar meanings. For example, at least one of a channel and a symbol may be a signal (signaling). Furthermore, a signal may be a message. Furthermore, a component carrier (CC) may be called a carrier frequency, a cell, a frequency carrier, etc.

[0212] <System, Network> As used in this disclosure, the terms "system" and "network" are used interchangeably.

[0213] <Parameter and Channel Names> Furthermore, the information, parameters, and the like described in the present disclosure may be expressed using absolute values, relative values ​​from a predetermined value, or other corresponding information. For example, a radio resource may be indicated by an index.

[0214] The names used for the above-described parameters are not intended to be limiting in any way. Furthermore, the mathematical expressions using these parameters may differ from those explicitly disclosed in this disclosure. The various channels (e.g., PUCCH, PDCCH, etc.) and information elements may be identified by any suitable names, and therefore the various names assigned to these various channels and information elements are not intended to be limiting in any way.

[0215] <Base Station> In the present disclosure, terms such as "base station (BS)," "radio base station," "fixed station," "NodeB," "eNodeB (eNB)," "gNodeB (gNB)," "access point," "transmission point," "reception point," "transmission / reception point," "cell," "sector," "cell group," "carrier," and "component carrier" may be used interchangeably. A base station may also be referred to by terms such as a macrocell, a small cell, a femtocell, and a picocell.

[0216] A base station can accommodate one or more (e.g., three) cells. When a base station accommodates multiple cells, the overall coverage area of ​​the base station can be partitioned into multiple smaller areas, and each smaller area can also be provided with communication services by a base station subsystem (e.g., a remote radio head (RRH)). The terms "cell" or "sector" refer to part or the entire coverage area of ​​a base station and / or base station subsystem that provides communication services within that coverage area.

[0217] In the present disclosure, the base station transmitting information to a terminal may be interpreted as the base station instructing the terminal to control or operate based on the information.

[0218] Mobile Station In this disclosure, the terms "Mobile Station (MS)," "user terminal," "User Equipment (UE)," "terminal," and the like may be used interchangeably.

[0219] A mobile station may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as a subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, or some other suitable terminology.

[0220] <Base Station / Mobile Station> At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be referred to as a transmitting device, a receiving device, a communication device, etc. At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be a device mounted on a mobile object, the mobile object itself, etc. The mobile object refers to a movable object, and may move at any speed. Naturally, this also includes cases where the mobile object is stationary. Examples of the mobile object include, but are not limited to, vehicles, transport vehicles, automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, connected cars, excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders, dump trucks, forklifts, trains, buses, handcars, rickshaws, ships and other watercraft, airplanes, rockets, satellites, drones (registered trademark), multicopters, quadcopters, balloons, and objects mounted thereon. The mobile object may also be a mobile object that moves autonomously based on an operational command. It may be a vehicle (e.g., a car, an airplane, etc.), an unmanned mobile object (e.g., a drone, an autonomous vehicle, etc.), or a robot (manned or unmanned). At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be a device that does not necessarily move during communication operations. For example, at least one of the base station and the mobile station may be an IoT (Internet of Things) device such as a sensor.

[0221] Furthermore, the base station in the present disclosure may be read as a terminal. For example, the embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to a configuration in which communication between a base station and a terminal is replaced with communication between multiple terminals (which may be called, for example, D2D (Device-to-Device) or V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything)). In this case, the device 20 may be configured to have the functions of the base station 10 described above. Furthermore, terms such as "uplink" and "downlink" may be read as terms corresponding to communication between terminals (for example, "side"). For example, terms such as an uplink channel and a downlink channel may be read as a side channel.

[0222] Similarly, the term "terminal" in the present disclosure may be interpreted as a base station, in which case the base station 10 may be configured to have the functions of the device 20 described above.

[0223] Fig. 19 shows an example configuration of a vehicle 2001. As shown in Fig. 19, the vehicle 2001 includes a drive unit 2002, a steering unit 2003, an accelerator pedal 2004, a brake pedal 2005, a shift lever 2006, front wheels 2007, rear wheels 2008, an axle 2009, an electronic control unit 2010, various sensors 2021 to 2029, an information service unit 2012, and a communication module 2013. Each aspect / embodiment described in the present disclosure may be applied to a communication device mounted on the vehicle 2001, and may be applied to the communication module 2013, for example.

[0224] The drive unit 2002 is configured, for example, by an engine, a motor, or a hybrid of an engine and a motor. The steering unit 2003 includes at least a steering wheel (also called a handle) and is configured to steer at least one of the front wheels and the rear wheels based on the operation of the steering wheel operated by the user.

[0225] The electronic control unit 2010 is composed of a microprocessor 2031, a memory (ROM, RAM) 2032, and a communication port (IO port) 2033. Signals are input to the electronic control unit 2010 from various sensors 2021 to 2029 provided in the vehicle 2001. The electronic control unit 2010 may also be called an ECU (Electronic Control Unit).

[0226] The signals from the various sensors 2021 to 2029 include a current signal from a current sensor 2021 that senses the current of the motor, a rotation speed signal of the front and rear wheels obtained by a rotation speed sensor 2022, an air pressure signal of the front and rear wheels obtained by an air pressure sensor 2023, a vehicle speed signal obtained by a vehicle speed sensor 2024, an acceleration signal obtained by an acceleration sensor 2025, an accelerator pedal depression amount signal obtained by an accelerator pedal sensor 2029, a brake pedal depression amount signal obtained by a brake pedal sensor 2026, a shift lever operation signal obtained by a shift lever sensor 2027, and a detection signal for detecting obstacles, vehicles, pedestrians, etc. obtained by an object detection sensor 2028.

[0227] The information service unit 2012 is composed of various devices, such as a car navigation system, an audio system, speakers, a television, and a radio, for providing (outputting) various types of information, such as driving information, traffic information, and entertainment information, and one or more ECUs that control these devices. The information service unit 2012 provides various types of multimedia information and multimedia services to the occupants of the vehicle 2001 by using information acquired from external devices via the communication module 2013, etc.

[0228] The information service unit 2012 may include input devices (e.g., keyboards, mice, microphones, switches, buttons, sensors, touch panels, etc.) that accept input from the outside, and may also include output devices (e.g., displays, speakers, LED lamps, touch panels, etc.) that output to the outside.

[0229] The driving assistance system unit 2030 is composed of various devices that provide functions for preventing accidents and reducing the driving burden on the driver, such as millimeter-wave radar, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), cameras, positioning locators (e.g., GNSS, etc.), map information (e.g., high-definition (HD) maps, autonomous vehicle (AV) maps, etc.), gyro systems (e.g., IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit), INS (Inertial Navigation System), etc.), AI (Artificial Intelligence) chips, and AI processors, as well as one or more ECUs that control these devices. In addition, the driving assistance system unit 2030 transmits and receives various information via the communication module 2013 to realize the driving assistance function or the autonomous driving function.

[0230] The communication module 2013 can communicate with the microprocessor 2031 and components of the vehicle 2001 via the communication port. For example, the communication module 2013 transmits and receives data via the communication port 2033 to and from the drive unit 2002, steering unit 2003, accelerator pedal 2004, brake pedal 2005, shift lever 2006, front wheels 2007, rear wheels 2008, axle 2009, microprocessor 2031 and memory (ROM, RAM) 2032 in the electronic control unit 2010, and sensors 2021 to 29, which are provided in the vehicle 2001.

[0231] The communication module 2013 is a communication device that can be controlled by the microprocessor 2031 of the electronic control unit 2010 and can communicate with an external device. For example, it transmits and receives various information to and from the external device via wireless communication. The communication module 2013 may be located either inside or outside the electronic control unit 2010. The external device may be, for example, a base station, a mobile station, or the like.

[0232] The communication module 2013 may transmit at least one of signals from the above-mentioned various sensors 2021 to 2029 input to the electronic control unit 2010, information obtained based on the signals, and information based on input from the outside (user) obtained via the information service unit 2012 to an external device via wireless communication. The electronic control unit 2010, the various sensors 2021 to 2029, the information service unit 2012, etc. may be referred to as input units that accept input. For example, the PUSCH transmitted by the communication module 2013 may include information based on the above-mentioned input.

[0233] The communication module 2013 receives various information (traffic information, traffic signal information, vehicle distance information, etc.) transmitted from an external device and displays it on the information service unit 2012 provided in the vehicle 2001. The information service unit 2012 may also be called an output unit that outputs information (for example, outputs information to a device such as a display or speaker based on the PDSCH received by the communication module 2013 (or data / information decoded from the PDSCH)).

[0234] Furthermore, the communication module 2013 stores various information received from external devices in a memory 2032 that can be used by the microprocessor 2031. Based on the information stored in the memory 2032, the microprocessor 2031 may control the drive unit 2002, steering unit 2003, accelerator pedal 2004, brake pedal 2005, shift lever 2006, front wheels 2007, rear wheels 2008, axle 2009, sensors 2021 to 2029, and the like provided in the vehicle 2001.

[0235] <Meaning and Interpretation of Terms> As used in this disclosure, the terms "determining" and "determining" may encompass a wide variety of actions. "Determining" and "determining" may include, for example, judging, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up, searching, inquiring (e.g., searching a table, database, or other data structure), ascertaining something that is considered to be a "judging" or "determining," and the like. "Determining" and "determining" may also include receiving (e.g., receiving information), transmitting (e.g., sending information), input, output, accessing (e.g., accessing data in memory), and the like that are considered to be a "judging" or "determining." Furthermore, "judgment" and "decision" can include regarding resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, comparing, etc. as having been "judged" or "decided." In other words, "judgment" and "decision" can include regarding some action as having been "judged" or "decided." Furthermore, "judgment (decision)" can be interpreted as "assuming," "expecting," "considering," etc.

[0236] The terms "connected," "coupled," or any variation thereof, refer to any direct or indirect connection or coupling between two or more elements, and may include the presence of one or more intermediate elements between two elements that are "connected" or "coupled" to each other. The coupling or connection between elements may be physical, logical, or a combination thereof. For example, "connected" may be read as "access." As used in this disclosure, two elements may be considered to be "connected" or "coupled" to each other using one or more wires, cables, and / or printed electrical connections, as well as electromagnetic energy having wavelengths in the radio frequency range, microwave range, and optical (both visible and invisible) range, as some non-limiting and non-exhaustive examples.

[0237] <Reference Signal> A reference signal can also be abbreviated as RS (Reference Signal), and may also be called a pilot depending on the applicable standard.

[0238] <Meaning of "based on"> As used in this disclosure, the phrase "based on" does not mean "based only on," unless expressly stated otherwise. In other words, the phrase "based on" means both "based only on" and "based at least on."

[0239] "First," "Second" Any reference to an element using designations such as "first," "second," etc., used in this disclosure does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. These designations may be used in this disclosure as a convenient method of distinguishing between two or more elements. Thus, a reference to a first and a second element does not imply that only two elements may be employed or that the first element must precede the second element in some way.

[0240] <Means> The "means" in the configuration of each device above may be replaced with "section," "circuit," "device," etc.

[0241] Open Format: When the terms "include," "including," and variations thereof are used in this disclosure, these terms are intended to be inclusive, similar to the term "comprising." Furthermore, when the term "or" is used in this disclosure, it is not intended to be an exclusive or.

[0242] <Time Units such as TTI, Frequency Units such as RB, and Radio Frame Configuration> A radio frame may be composed of one or more frames in the time domain. Each of the one or more frames in the time domain may be called a subframe. A subframe may further be composed of one or more slots in the time domain. A subframe may have a fixed time length (e.g., 1 ms) that is independent of numerology.

[0243] Numerology may be a communication parameter that applies to the transmission and / or reception of a signal or channel, and may indicate, for example, at least one of subcarrier spacing (SCS), bandwidth, symbol length, cyclic prefix length, transmission time interval (TTI), number of symbols per TTI, radio frame structure, specific filtering operations performed by the transceiver in the frequency domain, and specific windowing operations performed by the transceiver in the time domain.

[0244] A slot may be composed of one or more symbols in the time domain (such as an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol or a Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) symbol). A slot may be a time unit based on numerology.

[0245] A slot may include multiple minislots. Each minislot may consist of one or multiple symbols in the time domain. A minislot may also be called a subslot. A minislot may consist of fewer symbols than a slot. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted in a time unit larger than a minislot may be called PDSCH (or PUSCH) mapping type A. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted using a minislot may be called PDSCH (or PUSCH) mapping type B.

[0246] The radio frame, subframe, slot, minislot, and symbol all represent time units for transmitting signals, and may be referred to by other names corresponding to the radio frame, subframe, slot, minislot, and symbol.

[0247] For example, one subframe may be called a transmission time interval (TTI), multiple consecutive subframes may be called a TTI, or one slot or one minislot may be called a TTI. That is, at least one of the subframe and the TTI may be a subframe (1 ms) in existing LTE, a period shorter than 1 ms (for example, 1-13 symbols), or a period longer than 1 ms. Note that the unit representing the TTI may be called a slot, minislot, etc. instead of a subframe.

[0248] Here, TTI refers to, for example, the smallest time unit for scheduling in wireless communication. For example, in an LTE system, a base station performs scheduling to allocate radio resources (such as frequency bandwidth and transmission power that can be used by each user terminal) to each user terminal in TTI units. Note that the definition of TTI is not limited to this.

[0249] The TTI may be a transmission time unit for a channel-encoded data packet (transport block), a code block, a code word, etc., or may be a processing unit for scheduling, link adaptation, etc. When a TTI is given, the time interval (e.g., the number of symbols) to which a transport block, a code block, a code word, etc. is actually mapped may be shorter than the TTI.

[0250] When one slot or one minislot is called a TTI, one or more TTIs (i.e., one or more slots or one or more minislots) may be the minimum time unit for scheduling. Also, the number of slots (minislots) constituting the minimum time unit for scheduling may be controlled.

[0251] A TTI having a time length of 1 ms may be called a regular TTI (TTI in LTE Rel. 8-12), normal TTI, long TTI, regular subframe, normal subframe, long subframe, slot, etc. A TTI shorter than a regular TTI may be called a shortened TTI, short TTI, partial or fractional TTI, shortened subframe, short subframe, minislot, subslot, slot, etc.

[0252] In addition, a long TTI (e.g., a normal TTI, a subframe, etc.) may be interpreted as a TTI having a time length of more than 1 ms, and a short TTI (e.g., a shortened TTI, etc.) may be interpreted as a TTI having a TTI length shorter than the TTI length of a long TTI and greater than or equal to 1 ms.

[0253] A resource block (RB) is a resource allocation unit in the time domain and the frequency domain, and may include one or more consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain. The number of subcarriers included in an RB may be the same regardless of numerology, for example, 12. The number of subcarriers included in an RB may be determined based on numerology.

[0254] The time domain of an RB may include one or more symbols and may have a length of one slot, one minislot, one subframe, or one TTI. One TTI, one subframe, etc. may each be composed of one or more resource blocks.

[0255] Note that one or more RBs may also be called a physical resource block (PRB), a sub-carrier group (SCG), a resource element group (REG), a PRB pair, an RB pair, etc.

[0256] Furthermore, a resource block may be composed of one or more resource elements (REs). For example, one RE may be a radio resource region of one subcarrier and one symbol.

[0257] A Bandwidth Part (BWP) (which may also be referred to as a fractional bandwidth) may represent a subset of contiguous common resource blocks (RBs) for a given numerology on a given carrier, where the common RBs may be identified by their index relative to a Common Reference Point of the carrier. PRBs may be defined in a BWP and numbered within the BWP.

[0258] The BWP may include a BWP for UL (UL BWP) and a BWP for DL ​​(DL BWP). One or more BWPs may be configured for a UE within one carrier.

[0259] At least one of the configured BWPs may be active, and the UE may not expect to transmit or receive a given signal / channel outside the active BWP. Note that the terms "cell," "carrier," etc. in this disclosure may be read as "BWP."

[0260] The above-described structures of radio frames, subframes, slots, minislots, symbols, etc. are merely examples, and various changes may be made to the number of subframes included in a radio frame, the number of slots per subframe or radio frame, the number of minislots included in a slot, the number of symbols and RBs included in a slot or minislot, the number of subcarriers included in an RB, the number of symbols in a TTI, the symbol length, the cyclic prefix (CP) length, etc.

[0261] <Maximum Transmit Power> The "maximum transmit power" in the present disclosure may refer to the maximum value of transmit power, the nominal UE maximum transmit power, or the rated UE maximum transmit power.

[0262] Articles In this disclosure, where articles are added by translation, such as a, an, and the in English, the disclosure may include that the nouns following these articles are plural.

[0263] <"Different"> In the present disclosure, the term "A and B are different" may mean "A and B are different from each other." Note that the term may also mean "A and B are each different from C." Terms such as "separate" and "coupled" may also be interpreted in the same way as "different."

[0264] One aspect of the present disclosure is useful in wireless communication systems.

[0265] 10 Base station 20 Device 101, 202 Transmitter 102, 201 Receiver 103, 203 Controller

Claims

1. A device with lower complexity than an NB-IoT (Narrow Band Internet of Things) device, comprising: a receiving unit that receives a received signal including control information from a wireless communication device; a control unit that sets a first reference point, which is the timing on the reception time of the received signal and is the start point of a time interval, and a second reference point, which is the end point of the time interval; and a transmitting unit that transmits a transmission signal to the wireless communication device at a transmission time that includes the second reference point, wherein the control unit sets the time interval based on the control information and sets the second reference point based on the first reference point and the time interval.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the control unit uses the start time or end time of the preamble, the control information, the data region, the midamble, the postamble or a part of the component of the received signal as the first reference point, and uses the start time or end time of the preamble, the control information, the data region, the midamble, the postamble or a part of the component of the transmitted signal as the second reference point.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit sets the time interval to a time longer than the time required for the processing of the control information to be completed.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the control unit sets the second reference point so that the time interval falls within a time window indicated by a minimum time interval and a maximum time interval.

5. A communication method for a device with lower complexity than an NB-IoT (Narrow Band Internet of Things) device, which receives a received signal including control information from a wireless communication device, sets a time interval based on the control information, sets a first reference point that is the timing of the reception time of the received signal and that is the start point of the time interval, and a second reference point that is the end point of the time interval, sets the second reference point based on the first reference point and the time interval, and transmits a transmission signal to the wireless communication device at a transmission time that includes the second reference point.

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