Terminal and communication method

Abstract

This terminal comprises: a communication unit that receives, from a base station, information pertaining to a time division duplex (TDD) pattern in a non-terrestrial network (NTN); and a control unit that determines, on the basis of the information pertaining to the TDD pattern, a TDD pattern in which one cycle is configured in the order of a downlink, a guard period, and an uplink, and which has a cycle that is an integral multiple of a radio frame. The communication unit executes transmission and reception with the base station by applying the determined TDD pattern.

Description

Terminal and Communication Method

[0001] The present invention relates to a terminal and a communication method in a wireless communication system.

[0002] In NR (New Radio), which is a successor system to LTE (Long Term Evolution) (also referred to as "5G"), technologies that meet requirements such as a large-capacity system, high-speed data transmission speed, low latency, simultaneous connection of a large number of terminals, low cost, and power saving are being studied (for example, Non-Patent Document 1).

[0003] Currently, NTN (Non-Terrestrial Network) is also being studied. NTN uses a non-terrestrial network such as a satellite to provide services to areas that cannot be covered mainly in terms of cost in a terrestrial 5G network (for example, Non-Patent Document 2 and Non-Patent Document 3).

[0004] 3GPP TS 38.300 V18.3.0 (2024-09)3GPP TR 38.821 V16.2.0 (2023-03)Kosai et al., "A Study on Downlink Frequency Sharing in a HAPS Mobile Communication System", IEICE General Conference, B-17-1, 20203GPP TSG RAN Meeting #105, RP-242415, September, 20243GPP TR 36.763 V17.0.0 (2021-06)3GPP TS 36.211 V15.8.1 (2020-01)3GPP TS 36.331 V15.8.0 (2019-12)3GPP TS 38.331 V18.3.0 (2024-09)

[0005] Currently, the most commonly used duplexing method in NTN is FDD (Frequency Division Duplex). On the other hand, using TDD (Time Division Duplex) makes it easier to handle asymmetric traffic loads on the uplink and downlink, for example, and allows both uplink and downlink to be configured with only one band. However, in NTN environments with large RTT (Round-trip-time), TDD requires a large GP (Guard Period), necessitating the definition of a new frame structure.

[0006] This invention has been made in view of the above points, and aims to enable the use of TDD (Time division duplex) in an NTN (Non-Terrestrial Network) environment.

[0007] According to the disclosed technology, in an NTN (Non-Terrestrial Network), a terminal is provided which includes a communication unit that receives information relating to a TDD (Time Division Duplex) pattern from a base station, and a control unit that determines a TDD pattern based on the information relating to the TDD pattern, in which one cycle consists of a downlink, a guard period, and an uplink, and the period is an integer multiple of the radio frame, and the communication unit applies the determined TDD pattern to perform transmission and reception with the base station.

[0008] According to the disclosed technology, TDD (Time Division Duplex) can be used in an NTN (Non-Terrestrial Network) environment.

[0009] This is a diagram showing an example of NTN (1). This is a diagram showing an example of NTN (2). This is a diagram showing an example of NTN (3). This is a diagram showing an example of NTN (4). This is a diagram showing an example of an NR-TDD pattern. This is a flowchart for explaining an example of TDD pattern determination in an embodiment of the present invention. This is a diagram showing an example of a TDD pattern (1) in an embodiment of the present invention. This is a diagram showing an example of a TDD pattern (2) in an embodiment of the present invention. This is a diagram showing an example of a TDD pattern (3) in an embodiment of the present invention. This is a diagram showing an example of a TDD pattern (4) in an embodiment of the present invention. This is a diagram showing an example of a TDD pattern (5) in an embodiment of the present invention. This is a diagram showing an example of a TDD pattern (6) in an embodiment of the present invention. This is a diagram showing an example of a TDD pattern (7) in an embodiment of the present invention. This is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a base station 10 in an embodiment of the present invention. This is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a terminal 20 in an embodiment of the present invention. This is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a base station 10 or terminal 20 in an embodiment of the present invention. This is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a vehicle 2001 in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0010] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiments described below are examples, and the embodiments to which the present invention is applied are not limited to those described below.

[0011] In the operation of the wireless communication system according to the embodiments of the present invention, existing technologies may be used as appropriate. However, such existing technologies include, for example, existing LTE, but are not limited to existing LTE. Furthermore, the term "LTE" as used herein has a broad meaning that includes LTE-Advanced and LTE-Advanced and later technologies (e.g., NR), unless otherwise specified.

[0012] Furthermore, in the embodiments of the present invention 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), which are used in existing LTE systems, will be used. This is for convenience of description, and similar signals, functions, etc., may be called by other names. Also, the above terms in NR correspond to NR-SS, NR-PSS, NR-SSS, NR-PBCH, NR-PRACH, NR-PDCCH, NR-PDSCH, NR-PUCCH, NR-PUSCH, etc. However, even if a signal is used in NR, it is not necessarily explicitly stated as "NR-".

[0013] Furthermore, in the embodiments of the present invention, the duplex system may be a TDD (Time Division Duplex) system, an FDD (Frequency Division Duplex) system, or any other system (for example, a Flexible Duplex).

[0014] Furthermore, in the embodiments of the present invention, "configuring" wireless parameters may mean that predetermined values ​​are pre-configured, or that wireless parameters notified from the base station 10 or terminal 20 are configured.

[0015] Figure 1 shows an example of NTN (1). NTN (Non-Terrestrial Network) uses non-terrestrial equipment such as satellites to provide services to areas that cannot be covered by terrestrial 5G networks, mainly due to cost constraints. Furthermore, NTN can provide more reliable services. For example, it is envisioned to be applied to IoT (Inter-of-Things), ships, buses, trains, and critical communications. NTN also has scalability through efficient multicast or broadcast.

[0016] As an example from NTN, as shown in Figure 1, satellite 10A can retransmit signals transmitted from ground base station 10B to provide service to areas where ground base stations are not located, such as mountainous regions.

[0017] The terrestrial 5G network may have the configuration described below. The terrestrial 5G network includes one or more base stations 10 and terminals 20. The base station 10 is a communication device that provides one or more cells and communicates wirelessly with the terminals 20. The physical resources of the radio signal are defined in the time domain and the frequency domain, the time domain may be defined by the number of OFDM symbols, and the frequency domain may be defined by the number of subcarriers or resource blocks. The base station 10 transmits synchronization signals and system information to the terminals 20. The synchronization signals are, for example, NR-PSS and NR-SSS. The system information is transmitted, for example, in NR-PBCH and is also called broadcast information.

[0018] Base station 10 transmits control signals or data to terminal 20 via DL (Downlink) and receives control signals or data from terminal 20 via UL (Uplink). Both base station 10 and terminal 20 are capable of transmitting and receiving signals using beamforming. Furthermore, both base station 10 and terminal 20 are capable of applying MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) communication to DL or UL. In addition, both base station 10 and terminal 20 may communicate via SCell (Secondary Cell) and PCell (Primary Cell) using CA (Carrier Aggregation).

[0019] Terminal 20 is a communication device equipped with wireless communication capabilities, such as a smartphone, mobile phone, tablet, wearable device, or M2M (Machine-to-Machine) communication module. Terminal 20 receives control signals or data from base station 10 via DL and transmits control signals or data to base station 10 via UL, thereby utilizing various communication services provided by the wireless communication system.

[0020] Figure 2 shows an example of NTN (2). The area per cell or beam in NTN is much larger compared to terrestrial networks (TN). Figure 2 shows an example of NTN configured by satellite retransmission. The connection between satellite 10A and NTN gateway 10B is called a feeder link, and the connection between satellite 10A and UE20 is called a service link.

[0021] As shown in Figure 2, the difference in delay between the near-side UE20A and the far-side UE20B is, for example, 10.3 ms for GEO (Geosynchronous orbit) and 3.2 ms for LEO (Low Earth orbit). The beam size in NTN is, for example, 3500 km for GEO and 1000 km for LEO.

[0022] Figure 3 shows an example of an NTN (3). As shown in Figure 3, an NTN is realized by a satellite in space or an aircraft in the air. For example, a GEO satellite may be located at an altitude of 35,786 km and have a geostationary orbit. For example, a LEO satellite may be located at an altitude of 500-2000 km and orbit with a period of 88-127 minutes. For example, a HAPS (High Altitude Platform Station) may be located at an altitude of 8-50 km and perform a circular flight.

[0023] As shown in Figure 3, the GEO satellite, LEO satellite, and HAPS aircraft may be connected to the ground station gNB via a gateway. Furthermore, the service area may increase in the order of HAPS, LEO, and GEO.

[0024] For example, NTN can extend the coverage of a 5G network to areas that are not yet serviced or are already serviced. Also, for example, NTN can improve the continuity, availability, and reliability of services in ships, buses, trains, or other critical communications. The fact that it is NTN may be notified by the transmission of a special parameter to the terminal 20, and this special parameter may be, for example, a parameter related to the determination of Timing Advance (TA) based on information relating to satellites or aircraft.

[0025] Figure 4 shows an example of NTN (4). Figure 4 shows an example of an NTN network architecture assumed in the case of a transparent payload. As shown in Figure 4, the CN (Core Network) 10D, gNB 10C, and gateway 10B are connected. Gateway 10B is connected to satellite 10A via a feeder link. Satellite 10A is connected to terminal 20A or VSAT (Very small aperture terminal) 20B via a service link. NR Uu is established between gNB 10C and terminal 20A or VSAT 20B.

[0026] Furthermore, NTN's network architecture may employ FDD or TDD. Also, the ground cells may be fixed or mobile. Additionally, terminal 20 may have the capability to support GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System). For example, FR1 may be assumed to be a power class 3 handheld device. Also, at least FR2 may be assumed to be a VSAT device.

[0027] Furthermore, NTN's network architecture may also assume a regenerative payload. For example, the gNB function may be mounted on a satellite or aircraft. Alternatively, the gNB-DU may be mounted on a satellite or aircraft, and the gNB-CU may be deployed as a ground station.

[0028] IoT-NTN TDD mode is being considered, and the assumptions shown in 1)-5) below may be made (see Non-Patent Document 4).

[0029] 1) LEO@600km orbit and@1200km orbit each use Set 1 satellite parameters as a reference scenario (see Non-Patent Document 5). 2) Target the 1616–1626.5 MHz MSS (Mobile Satellite Service) allocated band. 3) Standalone deployment with anchored and non-anchored carriers (i.e., operating on carriers used solely for NB-IoT). 4) Operate in a Earth-fixed tracking area using either Earth-fixed or Earth-moving cells for NGSO (non-geostationary satellite orbit). 5) The new NB-IoT NTN TDD mode allows setting the use of radio resources within the target MSS allocated band using a periodic subset of UL and DL subframes within N radio frames. The periodic pattern should consist of a non-overlapping set of available consecutive UL subframes, a set of available consecutive DL subframes, and a guard period that is periodic every N radio frames with N=9 as the baseline. Blind detection is not anticipated on the UE side. The value of N and the periodic pattern settings are fixed for each bandwidth.

[0030] The above assumptions may include the following objectives:

[0031] The impact of periodic patterns on at least UE downlink synchronization and other aspects (if identified) will be considered. A new NB-IoT TDD NTN mode will be defined based on the minimum necessary changes to the NB-IoT NTN FDD frame structure and procedures. This mode will include the definition, setting (if necessary), and signaling (if necessary) of periodic patterns, including verification of the value of N, as well as related UE procedures, other necessary impacts on higher layers, RRM, and RF core requirements.

[0032] The following parameter TDD-Config-NB, which relates to the setting of a fixed TDD pattern in LTE, will be explained (see Non-Patent Document 7).

[0033] TDD-Config-NB-r15 ::= SEQUENCE { subframeAssignment-r1 ENUMERATED { sa1, sa2, sa3, sa4, sa5}, specialSubframePatterns-r1 ENUMERATED { ssp0, ssp1, ssp2, ssp3, ssp4, ssp5, ssp6, ssp7,ssp8, ssp9, ssp10, ssp10-CRS-LessDwPTS}} -- ASN1STOP

[0034] Table 1 shows an example of specialSubframePatterns (see Non-Patent Document 6) in the TDD-Config field related to fixed TDD pattern settings in LTE.

[0035]

[0036] Table 1 shows the settings, such as ssp0 pointing to setting 0 and ssp1 pointing to setting 1. The value ssp10-CRS-LessDwPTS corresponds to ssp10 without CRS transmission on the 5th symbol of DwPTS.

[0037] The lengths of DwPTS and UpPTS are given by Table 2, provided that the total length of DwPTS, GP, and UpPTS is equal to 1 ms, where X is the number of additional SC-FDMA symbols in UpPTS provided by the upper layer parameter srs-UpPtsAdd if set, otherwise X is equal to 0.

[0038] Table 2 shows an example of subframe allocation related to fixed TDD pattern settings in LTE (see Non-Patent Document 6).

[0039]

[0040] As shown in Table 2, sa1 refers to setting 1, sa2 refers to setting 2, and so on, indicating DL / UL subframe settings. E-UTRAN sets the same value for serving cells that exist in the same frequency band.

[0041] In Table 2, "D" indicates a downlink subframe reserved for downlink transmission, "U" indicates an uplink subframe reserved for uplink transmission, and "S" indicates a special subframe having three fields: DwPTS (Downlink Pilot Time Slot), GP (Guard Period), and UpPTS (Uplink Pilot Time Slot).

[0042] For NB-IoT frame structure type 2 (for TDD), uplink-downlink settings 0 and 6 are not supported.

[0043] The configurable TDD patterns for NR will be described (see Non-Patent Document 8). TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon ::= SEQUENCE { referenceSubcarrierSpacing SubcarrierSpacing, pattern1 TDD-UL-DL-Pattern, pattern2 TDD-UL-DL-Pattern OPTIONAL, -- Need R ...} TDD-UL-DL-Pattern ::= SEQUENCE { dl-UL-TransmissionPeriodicity ENUMERATED {ms0p5, ms0p625, ms1, ms1p25, ms2, ms2p5, ms5, ms10}, nrofDownlinkSlots INTEGER (0..maxNrofSlots), nrofDownlinkSymbols INTEGER (0..maxNrofSymbols-1), nrofUplinkSlots INTEGER (0..maxNrofSlots), nrofUplinkSymbols INTEGER (0..maxNrofSymbols-1), ..., [[ dl-UL-TransmissionPeriodicity-v1530 ENUMERATED {ms3, ms4} OPTIONAL -- Need R ]]}

[0044] dl-UL-TransmissionPeriodicity indicates the periodicity of the DL-UL pattern. If dl-UL-TransmissionPeriodicity-v1530 is signaled, the UE shall ignore dl-UL-TransmissionPeriodicity (without suffix).

[0045] nrofDownlinkSlots indicates the number of consecutive complete DL slots at the start of each DL-UL pattern. In this release, the maximum value of this field is 320.

[0046] nrofDownlinkSymbols is the number of consecutive DL symbols at the start of the slot following the last complete DL slot as derived from nrofDownlinkSlots. A value of 0 indicates that there is no partial downlink slot.

[0047] nrofUplinkSlots indicates the number of consecutive complete UL slots at the end of each DL-UL pattern. In this release, the maximum value of this field is 320.

[0048] nrofUplinkSymbols is the number of consecutive UL symbols at the end of the slot preceding the first complete UL slot as derived from nrofUplinkSlots. A value of 0 indicates that there is no partial uplink slot.

[0049] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an NR-TDD pattern. In the example of FIG. 5, slots #0 to #6 are DL slots, and slots #8 and #9 are UL slots. For slot #7, symbols #0 to #9 are DL symbols, symbols #10 to #12 are flexible symbols, and symbol #13 is a UL symbol.

[0050] Here, a periodic TDD pattern applicable to IoT-NTN may be defined.

[0051] FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an example of TDD pattern determination in an embodiment of the present invention. In step S101, the UE determines an IoT-TDD pattern. The UE may receive information for determining the IoT-TDD pattern from the BS. The information may be any one or a combination of RRC signaling, MAC-CE, and DCI. In step S102, the UE performs transmission and reception with the BS based on the IoT-TDD pattern.

[0052] Figure 7 shows an example (1) of a TDD pattern in an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 7, the periodic pattern may be a pattern in which a non-overlapping set of available consecutive UL subframes or slots, a set of available consecutive DL subframes or slots, and a guard period (DL-UL gap) are periodic every N wireless frames having N=9 as a baseline.

[0053] The method for defining an IoT-TDD pattern is described below. For example, the definition may include a pattern of consecutive DL and UL slots and guard periods. The IoT-TDD pattern may be fixed or configurable.

[0054] The following descriptions of TDD patterns in IoT-NTN will be used. Note that period may be substituted for periodicity.

[0055] 1) "D" indicates the duration of consecutive DL subframes, slots, or frames. 2) "U" indicates the duration of consecutive UL subframes, slots, or frames. 3) "N" indicates the period of the IoT-TDD pattern in the wireless frame. 4) "G" indicates the length or duration of the guard period (DL-UL gap).

[0056] You may perform the following actions 1) to 3).

[0057] Operation 1) Two options are considered for designing periodic TDD patterns for IoT-NTN. Operation 2) Details of Option 1 in Operation 1 include periodicity, granularity, candidate / minimum / maximum D / U / G values, and indication of IoT-TDD patterns (multiple possible). Operation 3) Details of Option 2 in Operation 1 include periodicity, granularity, candidate / minimum / maximum D / U / G values, and indication of IoT-TDD patterns (multiple possible).

[0058] Below, we will explain operation 1) two options considered for periodic TDD pattern design for IoT-NTN.

[0059] Option 1: Figure 8 shows an example (2) of a TDD pattern in an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 8, D + G + U = N × 10 [ms]. The positions, lengths, order and values ​​of D, G and U, and the value of N may be predefined or defined by SIB and / or RRC.

[0060] Option 2: Figure 9 shows an example (3) of a TDD pattern in an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 9, D_min + D_flex + G + U_flex + U_min = N × 10 [ms].

[0061] In the pattern of option 2, D = D_min + D_flex is also acceptable.

[0062] D_min is the minimum number of DL subframes or slots.

[0063] D_flex is the number of subframes or slots that can be flexibly allocated to the DL. D_flex may also be called the additional downlink time.

[0064] In the pattern of option 2, U = U_min + U_flex may also be the case, and the order may be U = U_flex + U_min.

[0065] U_min is the minimum number of UL subframes or slots.

[0066] U_flex is the number of subframes or slots that can be flexibly allocated to the UL. U_flex may also be called the additional uplink duration.

[0067] As shown in Figure 9, D_min and / or U_min may be fixed lengths. D_flex, G and / or U_flex may be set semi-statically. This can reduce overhead.

[0068] Alternatively, as shown in Figure 9, D_min and / or U_min may be fixed lengths or semi-statically set. D_flex, G and / or U_flex may be dynamically notified in addition to being semi-statically set. This provides flexibility.

[0069] The following describes the details of option 1 of operation 2) operation 1, including the periodicity, granularity, candidate / minimum / maximum D / U / G, and the IoT-TDD pattern(s).

[0070] Option 1 of the above operation 1 may be defined as shown below in A)-E).

[0071] A) Periodicity of N The periodicity of the IoT-TDD pattern may be set by pre-definition or by the network. For example, the periodicity of the IoT-TDD pattern may be set via SystemInformationBlockType1-NB and / or RRC signaling. For example, N may be 4, 8, 9, 10, 12, 16, etc. For example, 9 has better compatibility with existing Iridium systems, and 4, 8, or 16 has better compatibility with existing NB-IoT systems.

[0072] B) Granularity of D, G, and / or U The IoT-TDD pattern, i.e., D, G, and / or U, may be defined or set in units of slots, multiple slots, subframes, multiple subframes, frames, and multiple frames. For example, D may be 8 (16 subframes in total) in units of 8 subframes, 1 frame, or 2 subframes. It may be set by a combination of units of slots and subframes, or subframes and frames. For example, D may be 1 frame and 6 subframes, and the number of frames and the number of subframes may be notified or set separately. This can reduce overhead.

[0073] C) Candidates, minimum and maximum values ​​for D, G, and / or U: The candidate values, minimum and / or maximum values ​​for D, G, and / or U may be predefined, or they may be set by SIB and / or RRC signaling. Candidate values ​​may differ for each frequency, NTN type, traffic type, etc.

[0074] For example, assume that the periodicity of the TDD pattern is 90 ms (N=9), and that the unit of DL and UL transmission is a subframe. In this case, it may be defined as shown in 1)-3) below.

[0075] 1) G ∈ (13, 75). For example, G may be between 13 and 75. When the minimum D and minimum U are applied and the remaining part is G, the maximum number of subframes is 76. In the case of LEO-600, when considering the RTT between LEO-600 and the Earth at an elevation of 10 degrees, the minimum number of subframes is 13. In the case of LEO-1200, when considering the RTT between LEO-1200 and the Earth at an elevation of 10 degrees, the minimum number of subframes is 21.

[0076] 2) D ∈ (7, 69). For example, D may be between 7 and 69. 7 is the minimum value considering NPBCH (Narrowband PBCH), NPSS (Narrowband PSS), NSSS (Narrowband SSS), and / or SIB1-NB transmissions. 69 is the maximum value considering that a minimum G and minimum U are applied, and the remaining part is D.

[0077] 3) U ∈ (8, 70). For example, D may be between 8 and 70. 8 is the minimum value according to compatibility with existing iridium systems in the target band. 70 is the maximum value considering that a minimum G and minimum D are applied, and the remaining part is U.

[0078] D) Notification of IoT-TDD patterns D-1) Multiple patterns of different values ​​for D, G, or U may be predefined. The index may notify of such patterns. Table 3 shows examples of multiple predefined patterns of values ​​for D, G, or U.

[0079]

[0080] D-1a) The applicable IoT-TDD pattern may be communicated to the UE via SystemInformationBlockType1-NB and / or RRC signaling, which are narrowband system information. For example, the following information element TDD-Config-NB-r19 may be introduced, and the pattern may be set by the index of the corresponding configuration.

[0081] TDD-Config-NB-r19 ::= SEQUENCE { subframeAssignment-r19 ENUMERATED { sa1, sa2, sa3, sa4, sa5},} %Indicates DL / UL subframe configuration where sa1 points to Configuration1, sa2 to Configuration 2 and so on

[0082] D-1b) Multiple applicable IoT-TDD patterns may be communicated to the UE via SystemInformationBlockType1-NB and / or RRC signaling, which are narrowband system information. These multiple patterns may be applied at different periodicities. For example, the following information element TDD-Config-NB-r19 may be introduced, and the pattern may be configured by the index of the corresponding configuration.

[0083] TDD-Config-NB-r19 ::= SEQUENCE { subframeAssignment1-r19 ENUMERATED { sa1, sa2, sa3, sa4, sa5}, subframeAssignment2-r19 ENUMERATED { sa1, sa2, sa3, sa4, sa5},} %Indicates DL / UL subframe configuration where sa1 points to Configuration1, sa2 to Configuration 2 and so on

[0084] For example, subframeAssignment1 may be applied to the first period, subframeAssignment2 to the second period, and this cycle (first period + second period) may be repeated.

[0085] D-2) Regarding the notified values ​​of D, G, and / or U: D-2a) The applicable values ​​of D, G, and / or U may be notified to the UE via SystemInformationBlockType1-NB and / or RRC signaling, which are narrowband system information. Candidate values ​​or ranges of values ​​for D, G, and / or U may be predefined. The selection of D, G, and / or U may follow D + G + U = N × 10. For example, the following information element TDD-Config-NB-r19 may be introduced.

[0086] TDD-Config-NB-r19 ::= SEQUENCE { referenceSubcarrierSpacing SubcarrierSpacing, pattern TDD-UL-DL-Pattern-r19, ...} TDD-UL-DL-Pattern-r19 ::= SEQUENCE { dl-UL-TransmissionPeriodicity ENUMERATED {ms40, ms80, ms90, ms100, ms120, ms160}, nrofDownlinkSubframes INTEGER (0..maxNrofSubframes), nrofGapSubframes INTEGER (0..maxNrofSubframes), nrofUplinkSubframes INTEGER (0..maxNrofSubframes), ...,}

[0087] The values ​​of D, G, and / or U may be predefined. Two of the values ​​of D, G, and / or U may be predefined or notified, and the remaining value may be calculated. For example, only D and G may be notified or predefined, and U may be calculated as U = (N × 10 - (D + G)) [subframe, slot, or frame]. Alternatively, only D and U may be notified or predefined, and G may be calculated as G = (N × 10 - (D + U)) [subframe, slot, or frame].

[0088] D-2b) Multiple applicable D, G, and / or U values ​​may be communicated to the UE via SystemInformationBlockType1-NB and / or RRC signaling, which are narrowband system information. These multiple patterns may be applied to different periods or half of a period. For example, the following information element TDD-Config-NB-r19 may be introduced.

[0089] TDD-Config-NB-r19 ::= SEQUENCE { referenceSubcarrierSpacing SubcarrierSpacing, pattern1 TDD-UL-DL-Pattern-r19, pattern2 TDD-UL-DL-Pattern-r19, ...} TDD-UL-DL-Pattern-r19 ::= SEQUENCE { dl-UL-TransmissionPeriodicity ENUMERATED {ms40, ms80, ms90, ms100, ms120, ms160}, nrofDownlinkSubframes INTEGER (0..maxNrofSubframes), nrofGapSubframes INTEGER (0..maxNrofSubframes), nrofUplinkSubframes INTEGER (0..maxNrofSubframes), ...,}

[0090] Pattern 1 may be applied to the first period or the first half of the period, and Pattern 2 may be applied to the second period or the second half of the period, and the cycle may be repeated. If multiple patterns are set for each half of the period, a new period dl-UL-TransmissionPeriodicity-vx for each of those patterns may be notified independently of dl-UL-TransmissionPeriodicity-r19.

[0091] E) Regarding the location of the IoT-TDD pattern

[0092] Figure 10 shows an example (4) of a TDD pattern in an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 10, the IoT-TDD pattern may be aligned to the beginning of each hyperframe (i.e., SF0).

[0093] Figure 11 shows an example (5) of a TDD pattern in an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 11, the IoT-TDD pattern may be aligned to the beginning of any wireless frame or a predefined wireless frame.

[0094] Figure 12 shows an example (6) of a TDD pattern in an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 12, the IoT-TDD pattern may be aligned to the beginning of any subframe or a predefined subframe.

[0095] The details of option 2 for operation 1 (operation 3) are described below, including the periodicity, granularity, candidate / minimum / maximum D / U / G values, and the IoT-TDD pattern(s).

[0096] Option 2 of the above operation 1 may be defined as shown below in A)-E).

[0097] A) The same as option 1 described above may be used.

[0098] B) The same as option 1 described above may be used.

[0099] C) Candidate values ​​for D_min, D_flex, U_min, U_flex, and G

[0100] For example, one might assume that the period of the TDD pattern is 90 ms (N=9) and that the unit of DL or UL transmission is a subframe.

[0101] The minimum number of consecutive DL subframes, D_min, may be set as shown in 1)-5) below. Figure 13 shows an example (7) of a TDD pattern in an embodiment of the present invention. D_min may be determined by considering NPBCH, SIB1-NB, and NPSS shown in Figure 13.

[0102] 1) D_min may be 7. Subframe #9 of the first wireless frame, and subframes #0, #1, #2, #3, #4, and #5 of the subsequent second wireless subframe may be included in D_min. Alternatively, subframes #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, and #9 of the first wireless frame, and subframe #0 of the subsequent second wireless frame may be included in D_min.

[0103] 2) D_min may be 8. The determination of D_min may take into consideration compatibility with existing iridium systems in the target band.

[0104] 3) D_min may be 10. Subframes #0 to #9 may be included in D_min.

[0105] 4) D_min may be 16. Subframes #0 to #9 of the first wireless frame and subframes #0 to #5 of the subsequent second wireless frame may be included in D_min.

[0106] 5) D_min may be 20. The first radio frame and the subsequent second radio frame may be included in D_min so as to include other SIBs transmitted in addition to SIB1.

[0107] The minimum number of consecutive UL subframes, U_min, may be set as shown in 1) or 2) below.

[0108] 1) U_min may be 8. The determination of U_min may take into consideration compatibility with existing iridium systems in the target band.

[0109] 2) U_min may be 8. U_min may be the same as the minimum number of DL subframes.

[0110] D_flex, G and / or U_flex may be defined as follows:

[0111] 1) G ∈ (13, 75). For example, G may be between 13 and 75. When the minimum D and minimum U are applied and the remaining part is G, the maximum number of subframes is 76. In the case of LEO-600, when considering the RTT between LEO-600 and the Earth at an elevation of 10 degrees, the minimum number of subframes is 13. In the case of LEO-1200, when considering the RTT between LEO-1200 and the Earth at an elevation of 10 degrees, the minimum number of subframes is 21.

[0112] 2) D_flex ∈ (0, 63). For example, D may be between 0 and 63. 63 is the maximum value when the smallest G, D_min and U_min are applied, and the remainder is D_flex.

[0113] 3) U_flex ∈ (0, 63). For example, D may be between 0 and 63. 63 is the maximum value when the smallest G, D_min, and U_min are applied.

[0114] D) Notification of IoT-TDD patterns

[0115] The values ​​of D_min, D_flex, G, U_min, and U_flex may also be provided.

[0116] a) The applicable values ​​may be notified to the UE. These may be set semi-statically via SystemInformationBlockType1-NB and / or RRC signaling, which are narrowband system information, and / or dynamically via DCI.

[0117] For example, D_min may be defined in advance as a fixed value, and D_flex, U_flex, U_min, and G may be notified to the UE.

[0118] For example, D_min and U_min may be predefined as fixed values, and all or two of D_flex, U_flex, and G may be notified to the UE.

[0119] For example, D_min and U_min may be defined in advance as fixed values, and G and the position of G may be signaled to UE.

[0120] For example, D_min, U_min, and G may be predefined as fixed values, and both or one of D_flex and U_flex may be signaled to UE.

[0121] For example, candidate values ​​or ranges of values ​​for D_flex, D_min, G, U_flex, and U_min may be defined in advance. The selection of D_flex, D_min, G, U_flex, and U_min may follow the formula D_min + D_flex + G + U_flex + U_min = N × 10.

[0122] Compared to option 1, dynamic instruction may be possible. If only semi-static settings are supported, fewer bits are required to indicate the TDD pattern when only D_flex, G, and U_flex are indicated along with the predefined D_min and U_min.

[0123] For example, the following information element TDD-Config-NB-r19 may be introduced. TDD-Config-NB-r19 may set D_min, U_min, D_flex, U_flex, and G.

[0124] TDD-Config-NB-r19 ::= SEQUENCE { referenceSubcarrierSpacing SubcarrierSpacing, pattern TDD-UL-DL-Pattern-r19, ...} TDD-UL-DL-Pattern-r19 ::= SEQUENCE { dl-UL-TransmissionPeriodicity ENUMERATED {ms40, ms80, ms90, ms100, ms120, ms160}, nrofDownlinkFlexSubframes INTEGER (0..maxNrofSubframes), nrofDownlinkMinSubframes INTEGER (0..maxNrofSubframes), nrofGapSubframes INTEGER (0..maxNrofSubframes), nrofUplinkFlexSubframes INTEGER (0..maxNrofSubframes), nrofUplinkMinSubframes INTEGER (0..maxNrofSubframes), ...,}

[0125] For example, the following information element TDD-Config-NB-r19 may be introduced. D_flex, U_flex, and G may be set by TDD-Config-NB-r19, or D_min and U_min may be predefined.

[0126] TDD-Config-NB-r19 ::= SEQUENCE { referenceSubcarrierSpacing SubcarrierSpacing, pattern TDD-UL-DL-Pattern-r19, ...} TDD-UL-DL-Pattern-r19 ::= SEQUENCE { dl-UL-TransmissionPeriodicity ENUMERATED {ms40, ms80, ms90, ms100, ms120, ms160}, nrofDownlinkFlexSubframes INTEGER (0..maxNrofSubframes), nrofGapSubframes INTEGER (0..maxNrofSubframes), nrofUplinkFlexSubframes INTEGER (0..maxNrofSubframes), ...,}

[0127] b) Multiple applicable values ​​may be notified to the UE. This may be done via SystemInformationBlockType1-NB and / or RRC signaling, which are narrowband system information. These multiple patterns may be applied to different periods or half of a period.

[0128] For example, the following information element TDD-Config-NB-r19 may be introduced.

[0129] TDD-Config-NB-r19 ::= SEQUENCE { referenceSubcarrierSpacing SubcarrierSpacing, pattern1 TDD-UL-DL-Pattern-r19, pattern2 TDD-UL-DL-Pattern-r19, ...} TDD-UL-DL-Pattern-r19 ::= SEQUENCE { dl-UL-TransmissionPeriodicity-r19 ENUMERATED {ms40, ms80, ms90, ms100, ms120, ms160}, nrofDownlinkFlexSubframes INTEGER (0..maxNrofSubframes), nrofGapSubframes INTEGER (0..maxNrofSubframes), nrofUplinkFlexSubframes INTEGER (0..maxNrofSubframes), ..., [[ dl-UL-TransmissionPeriodicity-vx ENUMERATED {ms40, ms45, ms50} OPTIONAL -- Need R ]]}

[0130] Pattern 1 may be applied to the first period or the first half of the period, and Pattern 2 may be applied to the second period or the second half of the period, and the cycle may be repeated. If multiple patterns are set for each half of the period, a new period dl-UL-TransmissionPeriodicity-vx for each of those patterns may be notified independently of dl-UL-TransmissionPeriodicity-r19.

[0131] E) This may be the same as E) of Option 1.

[0132] UE can report the following capabilities:

[0133] The ability of each of the actions described above. The ability of each option in an action, or the ability of a combination of options. The ability of each choice in an action, or the ability of a combination of choices.

[0134] UEs can report the above capabilities for each frequency. For example, capabilities for each UE, each FR1, FR2, FR2-1, FR2-2, each SCS, each band or bandwidth, each BC, each FC, or each FSPC.

[0135] The UE can report the above capabilities for each cell. Capabilities per UE, per cell, or per TDD and FDD.

[0136] Throughout the above operations, whether they apply, and which operations apply, or / or which options or alternatives are used, may be determined by: • Setting by higher-layer parameters; • Determining by relevant higher-layer parameters; • Notifying by MAC-CE or DCI; • Determining based on UE capability; • Described in the operations described above; • Based on the conditions described in the operations described above; • Determining by the settings of higher-layer parameters / MAC-CE / DCI and reported UE capability (a combination of the above determinations).

[0137] Throughout the entire process, multiple options and alternatives can be combined into a single option or alternative.

[0138] Throughout its operation, the UE may assume that certain behaviors, behavioral options, or alternative behaviors may apply only when the UE reports support for a particular feature or model.

[0139] The UE can receive information from the NW as the following types (the NW can be referred to as gNB throughout the entire operation):

[0140] - Information via upper-layer signaling (e.g., RRC messages / LPP messages) - MAC CE with a new LCID in the MAC CE subheader - Extending existing MAC CEs (e.g., introducing new octets) - DCI - DCI field: Existing DCI field or newly introduced DCI field - RNTI: DCI with CRC scrambled by existing RNTI or newly introduced RNTI - DCI format: Existing DCI format or newly introduced DCI format - Combinations of the above information

[0141] UE can receive information from NW in the following periodic types: Option 1: Periodic Option 2: Semi-persistent (triggered by UE or gNB notification) Option 3: Aperiodic (triggered by UE or gNB notification)

[0142] Furthermore, the UE can report information to the NW in the following types (the NW can be referred to as gNB throughout the proposal): • Information via upper-layer signaling (e.g., RRC messages / LPP messages) • MAC CE with a new LCID in the MAC CE subheader • Extending existing MAC CEs (e.g., introducing new octets) • UCI • UCI on PUCCH or PUSCH • Combinations of the above information

[0143] Furthermore, the UE can report information to the NW in the following periodic types: Option 1: Periodic Option 2: Semi-persistent (triggered by UE or gNB notification) Option 3: Aperiodic (triggered by UE or gNB notification)

[0144] Through the operations described above, IoT devices can determine a TDD pattern in an NTN (Non-Terrestrial Network) environment and apply TDD to transmission and reception.

[0145] In other words, TDD (Time Division Duplex) can be used in an NTN (Non-Terrestrial Network) environment.

[0146] (Device Configuration) Next, an example of the functional configuration of the base station 10 and terminal 20 that perform the processes and operations described above will be explained. The base station 10 and terminal 20 include the functions to carry out the above-described embodiment. However, the base station 10 and terminal 20 may each be equipped with only some of the functions in the embodiment.

[0147] <Base Station 10> Figure 14 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a base station 10 in an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 14, the base station 10 has a transmitting unit 110, a receiving unit 120, a setting unit 130, and a control unit 140. The functional configuration shown in Figure 14 is merely an example. Any functional classification and functional unit names are acceptable as long as they can perform the operations according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0148] The transmitting unit 110 includes the function of generating a signal to be transmitted to the terminal 20 and transmitting the signal wirelessly. The transmitting unit 110 also transmits inter-network node messages to other network nodes. The receiving unit 120 includes the function of receiving various signals transmitted from the terminal 20 and obtaining information from the received signals, for example, higher layer information. The transmitting unit 110 also has the function of transmitting NR-PSS, NR-SSS, NR-PBCH, DL / UL control signals, etc. to the terminal 20. The receiving unit 120 also receives inter-network node messages from other network nodes.

[0149] The configuration unit 130 stores pre-configured configuration information and various configuration information to be transmitted to the terminal 20. The contents of the configuration information include, for example, information related to communication at NTN.

[0150] As described in the embodiment, the control unit 140 performs control related to communication in NTN. The control unit 140 also controls communication with terminal 20 based on the UE capability report regarding wireless parameters received from terminal 20. The signal transmission function of the control unit 140 may be included in the transmission unit 110, and the signal reception function of the control unit 140 may be included in the reception unit 120.

[0151] <Terminal 20> Figure 15 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of terminal 20 in an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 15, terminal 20 has a transmitting unit 210, a receiving unit 220, a setting unit 230, and a control unit 240. The functional configuration shown in Figure 15 is merely an example. Any functional classification and functional unit names are acceptable as long as they can perform the operations according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0152] The transmitting unit 210 creates a transmission signal from the transmission data and transmits the transmission signal wirelessly. The receiving unit 220 wirelessly receives various signals and acquires signals from higher layers from the received physical layer signals. The receiving unit 220 also has the function of receiving NR-PSS, NR-SSS, NR-PBCH, DL / UL / SL control signals, etc. transmitted from the base station 10. For example, the transmitting unit 210 transmits PSCCH (Physical Sidelink Control Channel), PSSCH (Physical Sidelink Shared Channel), PSDCH (Physical Sidelink Discovery Channel), PSBCH (Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel), etc. to other terminals 20 as D2D communication, and the receiving unit 120 receives PSCCH, PSSCH, PSDCH or PSBCH, etc. from other terminals 20.

[0153] The setting unit 230 stores various setting information received from the base station 10 by the receiving unit 220. The setting unit 230 also stores pre-configured setting information. The content of the setting information includes, for example, information related to NTN communications.

[0154] As described in the embodiment, the control unit 240 performs control related to communication in NTN. The signal transmission function unit of the control unit 240 may be included in the transmission unit 210, and the signal reception function unit of the control unit 240 may be included in the reception unit 220.

[0155] (Hardware Configuration) The block diagrams (Figures 14 and 15) used in the description of the above embodiments show functional units. These functional blocks (components) are realized by any combination of at least one of hardware and software. Furthermore, the method of realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be realized using one device that is physically or logically coupled, or it may be realized using two or more physically or logically separated devices that are directly or indirectly connected (for example, using wired or wireless connections). A functional block may be realized by combining the above one device or the above multiple devices with software.

[0156] Functions include, but are not limited to, judgment, decision, determination, calculation, calculation, processing, derivation, investigation, exploration, confirmation, reception, transmission, output, access, resolution, selection, selection, establishment, comparison, assumption, expectation, assumption, broadcasting, notifying, communicating, forwarding, configuring, reconfiguring, allocating (mapping), and assigning. For example, a functional block (configuration part) that enables transmission is called a transmitting unit or transmitter. In all cases, as mentioned above, the method of implementation is not particularly limited.

[0157] For example, the base station 10, terminal 20, etc. in one embodiment of the present disclosure may function as a computer that processes the wireless communication method of the present disclosure. Figure 16 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the base station 10 and terminal 20 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The above-mentioned base station 10 and terminal 20 may be physically configured as a computer device including a processor 1001, a storage device 1002, an auxiliary storage device 1003, a communication device 1004, an input device 1005, an output device 1006, a bus 1007, etc.

[0158] In the following explanation, the term "device" can be read as "circuit," "device," "unit," etc. The hardware configuration of the base station 10 and terminal 20 may include one or more of the devices shown in the figure, or it may be configured without some of the devices.

[0159] Each function in the base station 10 and terminal 20 is realized by loading predetermined software (programs) onto hardware such as the processor 1001 and storage device 1002, which allows the processor 1001 to perform calculations, control communication by the communication device 1004, and control at least one of data reading and writing in the storage device 1002 and auxiliary storage device 1003.

[0160] The processor 1001 controls the entire computer, for example, by running an operating system. The processor 1001 may consist of a central processing unit (CPU) that includes interfaces with peripheral devices, control devices, arithmetic units, registers, etc. For example, the control unit 140, control unit 240, etc., described above may be implemented by the processor 1001.

[0161] Furthermore, the processor 1001 reads programs (program code), software modules, or data from at least one of the auxiliary storage device 1003 and the communication device 1004 into the storage device 1002, and executes various processes accordingly. The program used is one that causes the computer to execute at least a part of the operations described in the above embodiment. For example, the control unit 140 of the base station 10 shown in Figure 14 may be implemented by a control program stored in the storage device 1002 and operated by the processor 1001. Also, for example, the control unit 240 of the terminal 20 shown in Figure 15 may be implemented by a control program stored in the storage device 1002 and operated by the processor 1001. Although the above-described processes have been explained as being executed by one processor 1001, they may be executed simultaneously or sequentially by two or more processors 1001. The processor 1001 may be implemented by one or more chips. The program may also be transmitted from the network via a telecommunications line.

[0162] The storage device 1002 is a computer-readable recording medium and may consist of at least one of the following: ROM (Read Only Memory), EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. The storage device 1002 may also be called a register, cache, main memory, etc. The storage device 1002 can store executable programs (program code), software modules, etc., for implementing a communication method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0163] The auxiliary storage device 1003 is a computer-readable recording medium and may consist of at least one of the following: an optical disc 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 multipurpose disk, a Blu-ray® disk), a smart card, flash memory (e.g., a card, a stick, a key drive), a floppy® disk, a magnetic strip, etc. The above-mentioned storage medium may also be a database, server, or other suitable medium that includes at least one of the storage device 1002 and the auxiliary storage device 1003.

[0164] The communication device 1004 is hardware (transmitting / receiving device) for communicating between computers via at least one of a wired network and a wireless network, and is also referred to as a network device, network controller, network card, communication module, etc. The communication device 1004 may be configured to include, for example, a high-frequency switch, duplexer, filter, frequency synthesizer, etc., in order to implement at least one of frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD). For example, the transmitting and receiving antenna, amplifier section, transmitting and receiving section, transmission path interface, etc., may be implemented by the communication device 1004. The transmitting and receiving section may be implemented in a physically or logically separated manner, with a transmitting section and a receiving section.

[0165] The input device 1005 is an input device that accepts input from an external source (e.g., a keyboard, mouse, microphone, switch, button, sensor, etc.). The output device 1006 is an output device that outputs to an external source (e.g., a display, speaker, LED lamp, etc.). The input device 1005 and the output device 1006 may be configured as an integrated unit (e.g., a touch panel).

[0166] Furthermore, each device, such as the processor 1001 and the storage device 1002, is connected by a bus 1007 for communicating information. The bus 1007 may be configured using a single bus, or different buses may be configured for each device.

[0167] Furthermore, the base station 10 and terminal 20 may be configured to include hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), and an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), and some or all of each functional block may be realized by such hardware. For example, the processor 1001 may be implemented using at least one of these hardware components.

[0168] Figure 17 shows an example of the configuration of vehicle 2001. As shown in Figure 17, 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 this disclosure may be applied to a communication device mounted on vehicle 2001, for example, to the communication module 2013.

[0169] The drive unit 2002 consists of, for example, 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, which is operated by the user.

[0170] The electronic control unit 2010 consists of a microprocessor 2031, memory (ROM, RAM) 2032, and communication ports (IO ports) 2033. Signals from various sensors 2021 to 2029 installed in the vehicle 2001 are input to the electronic control unit 2010. The electronic control unit 2010 may also be called an ECU (Electronic Control Unit).

[0171] Signals from various sensors 2021 to 2029 include current signals from current sensor 2021 for sensing motor current, front or rear wheel rotation speed signals acquired by rotation speed sensor 2022, front or rear wheel air pressure signals acquired by air pressure sensor 2023, vehicle speed signals acquired by vehicle speed sensor 2024, acceleration signals acquired by acceleration sensor 2025, accelerator pedal depression signals acquired by accelerator pedal sensor 2029, brake pedal depression signals acquired by brake pedal sensor 2026, shift lever operation signals acquired by shift lever sensor 2027, and detection signals acquired by object detection sensor 2028 for detecting obstacles, vehicles, pedestrians, etc.

[0172] The Information Service Unit 2012 consists of various devices for providing (outputting) various types of information such as driving information, traffic information, and entertainment information, including a car navigation system, audio system, speakers, television, and radio, and one or more ECUs that control these devices. The Information Service Unit 2012 uses information acquired from external devices via a communication module 2013, etc., to provide various multimedia information and multimedia services to the occupants of the vehicle 2001. The Information Service Unit 2012 may include input devices that accept input from the outside (e.g., keyboard, mouse, microphone, switch, button, sensor, touch panel, etc.) and output devices that perform output to the outside (e.g., display, speaker, LED lamp, touch panel, etc.).

[0173] The driver assistance system unit 2030 consists of various devices that provide functions to prevent accidents or reduce the driver's workload, such as millimeter-wave radar, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), cameras, positioning locators (e.g., GNSS), map information (e.g., high-definition (HD) maps, autonomous vehicle (AV) maps), gyro systems (e.g., IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit), INS (Inertial Navigation System)), AI (Artificial Intelligence) chips, and AI processors, as well as one or more ECUs that control these devices. The driver assistance system unit 2030 also transmits and receives various information via the communication module 2013 to realize driver assistance functions or autonomous driving functions.

[0174] The communication module 2013 can communicate with the microprocessor 2031 and components of the vehicle 2001 via its communication port. For example, the communication module 2013 sends and receives data via the communication port 2033 between the drive unit 2002, steering unit 2003, accelerator pedal 2004, brake pedal 2005, shift lever 2006, front wheels 2007, rear wheels 2008, axle 2009, the microprocessor 2031 and memory (ROM, RAM) 2032 in the electronic control unit 2010, and sensors 2021-29 provided in the vehicle 2001.

[0175] 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 external devices. For example, it can send and receive various types of information with external devices 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 or a mobile station.

[0176] The communication module 2013 may transmit at least one of the following to an external device via wireless communication: signals from the various sensors 2021-2028 input to the electronic control unit 2010, information obtained based on said signals, and information based on input from an external source (user) obtained via the information service unit 2012. The electronic control unit 2010, the various sensors 2021-2028, the information service unit 2012, etc., may also be called input units that accept input. For example, the PUSCH transmitted by the communication module 2013 may include the information based on the above input.

[0177] The communication module 2013 receives various information (traffic information, signal information, inter-vehicle 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, which outputs information (for example, outputs information to devices such as displays and speakers based on the PDSCH (or data / information decoded from the PDSCH) received by the communication module 2013). The communication module 2013 also stores the various information received from the external device 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, axles 2009, sensors 2021-2029, etc., provided in the vehicle 2001.

[0178] (Summary of Embodiments) (1) A terminal in an NTN (Non-Terrestrial Network) comprising: a communication unit that receives information relating to a TDD (Time Division Duplex) pattern from a base station; and a control unit that determines a TDD pattern based on the information relating to the TDD pattern, wherein one cycle consists of a downlink, a guard period, and an uplink, and the period is an integer multiple of the radio frame, and the communication unit performs transmission and reception with the base station by applying the determined TDD pattern. (2) The terminal according to paragraph 1, wherein the control unit determines a TDD pattern where one cycle consists of a minimum downlink period, an additional downlink period, a guard period, an additional uplink period, and a minimum uplink period, and the period is an integer multiple of the radio frame. (3) The terminal according to paragraph 1, wherein the control unit assumes that the TDD pattern starts from the beginning of the hyperframe. (4) The terminal according to paragraph 1, wherein the control unit determines the additional downlink period, the guard period, and the additional uplink period based on the information relating to the TDD pattern. (Clause 5) The terminal according to Clause 1, wherein the control unit determines a TDD pattern that repeats a cycle in which the first and second periods are different TDD patterns. (Clause 6) A communication method in which a terminal performs the following steps: receiving information relating to a TDD (Time division duplex) pattern from a base station in an NTN (Non-Terrestrial Network); determining a TDD pattern based on the information relating to the TDD pattern, in which one cycle consists of a downlink, a guard period, and an uplink, and the period is an integer multiple of the radio frame; and performing transmission and reception with the base station by applying the determined TDD pattern.

[0179] In any of the above configurations, TDD (Time Division Duplex) can be used in an NTN (Non-Terrestrial Network) environment. Furthermore, according to claim 2-5, an IoT device can determine a TDD pattern in an NTN (Non-Terrestrial Network) environment and apply TDD to transmission and reception.

[0180] (Supplement to Embodiments) Embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the disclosed invention is not limited to such embodiments, and those skilled in the art will understand various modifications, alterations, alternatives, substitutions, etc. Specific numerical examples have been used to facilitate understanding of the invention, but unless otherwise specified, these numerical values ​​are merely examples, and any appropriate values ​​may be used. The division of items in the above description is not essential to the present invention, and matters described in two or more items may be combined as needed, and matters described in one item may be applied to matters described in another item (as long as they do not contradict each other). The boundaries of functional units or processing units in the functional block diagram do not necessarily correspond to the boundaries of physical parts. The operation of multiple functional units may be physically performed by one part, or the operation of one functional unit may be physically performed by multiple parts. The processing procedures described in the embodiments may be rearranged as long as they do not contradict each other. For the convenience of explaining the processing, the base station 10 and terminal 20 have been described using functional block diagrams, but such devices may be realized in hardware, software, or a combination thereof. The software operated by the processor of the base station 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention and the software operated by the processor of the terminal 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be stored in any suitable storage medium such as random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), EPROM, EEPROM, register, hard disk (HDD), removable disk, CD-ROM, database, server, or other appropriate storage medium.

[0181] Furthermore, notification of information is not limited to the embodiments / models described herein and may be carried out by other means. For example, notification of information may be carried out by physical layer signaling (e.g., DCI (Downlink Control Information), UCI (Uplink Control Information)), upper layer signaling (e.g., RRC (Radio Resource Control) signaling, MAC (Medium Access Control) signaling), broadcast information (MIB (Master Information Block), SIB (System Information Block)), other signals, or combinations thereof. Also, RRC signaling may be called RRC messages, and may be, for example, RRC Connection Setup messages, RRC Connection Reconfiguration messages, etc.

[0182] Each aspect / embodiment described in this disclosure may be applied to at least one of the following: LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE-A (LTE-Advanced), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4G (4th generation mobile communication system), 5G (5th generation mobile communication system), FRA (Future Radio Access), NR (new Radio), W-CDMA®, GSM®, CDMA2000, UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi®), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX®), IEEE 802.20, UWB (Ultra-WideBand), Bluetooth®, and other appropriate systems, as well as next-generation systems extended based thereon. Furthermore, multiple systems may be applied in combination (for example, a combination of at least one of LTE and LTE-A with 5G).

[0183] The processing procedures, sequences, flowcharts, etc., of each aspect / embodiment described herein may be reordered, provided they are consistent with each other. For example, the methods described herein present various step elements in an exemplary order and are not limited to that specific order.

[0184] In this specification, specific operations performed by the base station 10 may, in some cases, be performed by its upper node. In a network consisting of one or more network nodes having a base station 10, it is clear that various operations performed for communication with the terminal 20 can be performed by the base station 10 and at least one of the other network nodes (for example, an MME or S-GW, but not limited to these). Although the above example illustrates the case where there is one other network node besides the base station 10, the other network node may be a combination of multiple other network nodes (for example, an MME and an S-GW).

[0185] The information or signals described in this disclosure may be output from a higher layer (or lower layer) to a lower layer (or higher layer). They may also be input and output via multiple network nodes.

[0186] Input and output information may be stored in a specific location (e.g., memory) or managed using a management table. Input and output information may be overwritten, updated, or appended to. Output information may be deleted. Input information may be transmitted to other devices.

[0187] The determination in this disclosure may be made by a value represented by one bit (0 or 1), by a Boolean value (true or false), or by a numerical comparison (for example, a comparison with a predetermined value).

[0188] Software should be broadly interpreted to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, execution threads, procedures, functions, and so on, whether they are called software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or by any other name.

[0189] Furthermore, software, instructions, information, etc., may be transmitted and received via a transmission medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using at least one of wired technology (such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, or digital subscriber line (DSL)) and wireless technology (such as infrared or microwave), then at least one of these wired and wireless technologies is included in the definition of a transmission medium.

[0190] The information, signals, etc. described in this disclosure may be represented using any of the various different techniques. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or photons, or any combination thereof.

[0191] In addition, terms used 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 the channel and symbol may be a signal (signaling). Also, a signal may be a message. Furthermore, a component carrier (CC) may be called a carrier frequency, cell, frequency carrier, etc.

[0192] The terms “system” and “network” as used in this disclosure are interchangeable.

[0193] Furthermore, the information, parameters, etc., described in this disclosure may be expressed using absolute values, relative values ​​from a given value, or corresponding other information. For example, wireless resources may be indicated by an index.

[0194] The names used for the parameters described above are not restrictive in any way. Furthermore, the formulas and other expressions using these parameters may differ from those expressly disclosed in this disclosure. Various channels (e.g., PUCCH, PDCCH, etc.) and information elements can be identified by any suitable name, and therefore, the various names assigned to these various channels and information elements are not restrictive in any way.

[0195] In this disclosure, terms such as "Base Station (BS)", "wireless base station", "base station equipment", "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. Base stations may also be referred to by terms such as macrocell, small cell, femtocell, and picocell.

[0196] A base station can accommodate one or more (e.g., three) cells. If a base station accommodates multiple cells, the entire coverage area of ​​the base station can be divided into multiple smaller areas, each of which may 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 all of the coverage area of ​​at least one of the base station and / or base station subsystems that provide communication services in that coverage.

[0197] In this disclosure, the transmission of information by a base station to a terminal may be interpreted as the base station instructing the terminal to perform control or operation based on the information.

[0198] In this disclosure, terms such as "Mobile Station (MS)," "user terminal," "User Equipment (UE)," and "terminal" may be used interchangeably.

[0199] 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 several other appropriate terms.

[0200] At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be called a transmitting device, a receiving device, a communication device, etc. At least one of the base station and the mobile station may also be a device mounted on a mobile body, the mobile body itself, etc. The mobile body refers to a movable object, and its speed of movement is arbitrary. This also includes the case when the mobile body is stationary. The mobile body includes, but is not limited to, vehicles, transport vehicles, automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, connected cars, excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders, dump trucks, forklifts, trains, buses, handcarts, rickshaws, ships and other watercraft, airplanes, rockets, satellites, drones (registered trademark), multicopters, quadcopters, balloons, and items mounted on them. The mobile body may also be a mobile body that moves autonomously based on operation commands. It may be a vehicle (e.g., a car, an airplane, etc.), an unmanned mobile body (e.g., a drone, an autonomous vehicle, etc.), or a robot (manned or unmanned). Furthermore, at least one of the base station and the mobile station may include devices that do 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.

[0201] Furthermore, the term "base station" in this disclosure may be interpreted as "user terminal." For example, the various aspects / embodiments of this disclosure may be applied to a configuration in which communication between a base station and a user terminal is replaced with communication between multiple terminals 20 (which may be called, for example, D2D (Device-to-Device), V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything), etc.). In this case, the terminals 20 may have the functions that the base station 10 has. Also, terms such as "uplink" and "downlink" may be interpreted as terms corresponding to terminal-to-terminal communication (for example, "side"). For example, uplink channel, downlink channel, etc., may be interpreted as side channel.

[0202] Similarly, the term "user terminal" in this disclosure may be replaced with "base station." In this case, the base station may be configured to have the same functions as the user terminal described above.

[0203] As used in this disclosure, the terms “determining” and “determining” may encompass a wide variety of actions. “Determining” may include, for example, judging, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up, searching, or inquiring (e.g., searching in a table, database, or other data structure), or ascertaining. “Determining” may also include receiving (e.g., receiving information), transmitting (e.g., sending information), inputting, outputting, or accessing (e.g., accessing data in memory). Furthermore, "judgment" and "decision" can include considering something as having been "judged" or "decided" after resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, comparing, etc. In other words, "judgment" and "decision" can include considering something as having been "judged" or "decided" after some action. Also, "judgment (decision)" can be reinterpreted as "assuming," "expecting," or "considering."

[0204] The terms “connected,” “coupled,” or any variation thereof, mean 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” with each other. The coupling or connection between elements may be physical, logical, or a combination thereof. For example, “connection” may be reinterpreted as “access.” As used in this disclosure, two elements may be considered to be “connected” or “coupled” with each other using at least one of one or more wires, cables, and printed electrical connections, and, in some non-limiting and non-exclusive examples, electromagnetic energy having wavelengths in the radio frequency domain, microwave domain, and optical (both visible and invisible) domain.

[0205] The reference signal can also be abbreviated as RS (Reference Signal), and may be called a pilot depending on the applicable standard.

[0206] In this disclosure, the phrase "based on" does not mean "based solely on" unless otherwise specified. In other words, the phrase "based on" means both "based solely on" and "based at least on."

[0207] Any reference to elements using the designations “first,” “second,” etc., as 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 way to distinguish between two or more elements. Accordingly, references to the first and second elements do not imply that only two elements may be employed, or that the first element must precede the second element in any way.

[0208] In the configuration of each of the above devices, "means" may be replaced with "part," "circuit," "device," etc.

[0209] Where the terms “include,” “including,” and variations thereof are used in this disclosure, these terms are intended to be inclusive, as is the term “comprising.” Furthermore, the term “or” as used in this disclosure is not intended to mean exclusive OR.

[0210] A wireless frame may consist of one or more frames in the time domain. Each of these frames in the time domain may be called a subframe. A subframe may further consist 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.

[0211] Numerical logic may be communication parameters applied to at least one of the transmission and reception of a signal or channel. Numerical logic may include, for example, at least one of the following: subcarrier spacing (SCS), bandwidth, symbol length, cyclic prefix length, transmission time interval (TTI), number of symbols per TTI, radio frame configuration, specific filtering processes performed by the transceiver in the frequency domain, and specific windowing processes performed by the transceiver in the time domain.

[0212] A slot may consist of one or more symbols in the time domain (such as OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) symbols, SC-FDMA (Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access) symbols, etc.). A slot may also be a time unit based on neurologic.

[0213] A slot may include multiple minislots. Each minislot may consist of one or more symbols in the time domain. Minislots may also be called subslots. Minislots may consist of fewer symbols than a slot. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted in a time unit larger than a minislot may be called a PDSCH (or PUSCH) mapping type A. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted using a minislot may be called a PDSCH (or PUSCH) mapping type B.

[0214] Wireless frames, subframes, slots, minislots, and symbols all represent units of time when transmitting a signal. Different names may be used for each of these terms.

[0215] 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. In other words, at least one of a subframe and a TTI may be a subframe in existing LTE (1 ms), a period shorter than 1 ms (e.g., 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.

[0216] Here, TTI refers to, for example, the smallest time unit for scheduling in wireless communication. For example, in an LTE system, the base station schedules each terminal 20 to allocate wireless resources (such as the frequency bandwidth and transmission power available to each terminal 20) in TTI units. However, the definition of TTI is not limited to this.

[0217] TTI may be a transmission time unit for channel-encoded data packets (transport blocks), code blocks, code words, etc., or it may be a processing unit for scheduling, link adaptation, etc. When a TTI is given, the actual time interval (e.g., number of symbols) in which the transport block, code block, code word, etc. are mapped may be shorter than the TTI.

[0218] Furthermore, if one slot or one mini-slot is referred to as a TTI, then one or more TTIs (i.e., one or more slots or one or more mini-slots) may constitute the minimum time unit for scheduling. In addition, the number of slots (number of mini-slots) that constitute this minimum time unit for scheduling may be controlled.

[0219] A TTI with a time length of 1 ms may be called a normal TTI, a long TTI, a normal subframe, a long subframe, a slot, etc. A TTI shorter than a normal TTI may be called a shortened TTI, a short TTI, a partial or fractional TTI, a shortened subframe, a short subframe, a mini slot, a sub slot, a slot, etc.

[0220] Furthermore, long TTIs (e.g., normal TTIs, subframes, etc.) may be interpreted as TTIs with a time length exceeding 1 ms, and short TTIs (e.g., shortened TTIs, etc.) may be interpreted as TTIs with a TTI length less than that of a long TTI but 1 ms or more.

[0221] A resource block (RB) is a resource allocation unit in the time domain and frequency domain, and in the frequency domain, it may contain one or more consecutive subcarriers. The number of subcarriers in an RB may be the same regardless of the neurology, for example, 12. The number of subcarriers in an RB may be determined based on the neurology.

[0222] Furthermore, the time domain of the RB may contain one or more symbols and may be the length of one slot, one minislot, one subframe, or one TTI. One TTI, one subframe, etc., may each consist of one or more resource blocks.

[0223] One or more RBs may also be called a Physical RB (PRB), Sub-Carrier Group (SCG), Resource Element Group (REG), PRB pair, RB pair, etc.

[0224] Furthermore, a resource block may consist of one or more resource elements (REs). For example, one RE may be a radio resource area comprising one subcarrier and one symbol.

[0225] A Bandwidth Part (BWP), also known as a partial bandwidth, may represent a subset of consecutive common resource blocks (RBs) for a particular neurology in a given carrier. These common RBs may be identified by an index of the RBs relative to a common reference point of the carrier. The PRBs may be defined and numbered within a given BWP.

[0226] A BWP may include a BWP for UL (UL BWP) and a BWP for DL ​​(DL BWP). One or more BWPs may be set within a single carrier for a UE.

[0227] At least one of the configured BWPs may be active, and the UE does not need to assume that it will transmit or receive a predetermined signal / channel outside of the active BWP. In this disclosure, terms such as "cell" and "carrier" may be read as "BWP".

[0228] The structures described above, such as wireless frames, subframes, slots, minislots, and symbols, are merely illustrative. For example, the number of subframes included in a wireless frame, the number of slots per subframe or wireless 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, and the number of symbols, symbol length, and cyclic prefix (CP) length within a TTI can be varied in various ways.

[0229] In this disclosure, if articles are added through translation, such as a, an, and the in English, this disclosure may include the fact that the noun following these articles is plural.

[0230] In this disclosure, the term "A and B are different" may mean "A and B are different from each other." The term may also mean "A and B are each different from C." Terms such as "separate" and "combine" may be interpreted similarly to "different."

[0231] Each aspect / embodiment described in this disclosure may be used individually, in combination, or switched between as needed during implementation. Furthermore, notification of specific information (e.g., notification that "X is") is not limited to explicit notification, but may also be implicit (e.g., by not providing such notification).

[0232] Although the present disclosure has been described in detail above, it will be 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 intent and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the claims. Therefore, the descriptions in the present disclosure are illustrative and not intended to be restrictive in any way.

[0233] This international patent application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-202824, filed on November 20, 2024, and the entire contents of Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-202824 are incorporated herein by reference.

[0234] 10 Base station 110 Transmitting unit 120 Receiving unit 130 Setting unit 140 Control unit 20 Terminal 210 Transmitting unit 220 Receiving unit 230 Setting unit 240 Control unit 1001 Processor 1002 Storage device 1003 Auxiliary storage device 1004 Communication device 1005 Input device 1006 Output device 2001 Vehicle 2002 Drive unit 2003 Steering unit 2004 Accelerator pedal 2005 Brake pedal 2006 Shift lever 2007 Front wheel 2008 Rear wheel 2009 Axle 2010 Electronic control unit 2012 Information service unit 2013 Communication module 2021 Current sensor 2022 Rotation speed sensor 2023 Air pressure sensor 2024 Vehicle speed sensor 2025 Acceleration sensor 2026 Brake pedal sensor 2027 Shift lever sensor 2028 Object detection sensor 2029 Accelerator pedal sensor 2030 Driver assistance system unit 2031 Microprocessor 2032 Memory (ROM, RAM) 2033 Communication port (I / O port)

Claims

1. A terminal in an NTN (Non-Terrestrial Network) comprising: a communication unit that receives information relating to a TDD (Time Division Duplex) pattern from a base station; and a control unit that determines a TDD pattern based on the information relating to the TDD pattern, wherein one cycle consists of a downlink, a guard period, and an uplink, and the period is an integer multiple of the radio frame, and the communication unit applies the determined TDD pattern to perform transmission and reception with the base station.

2. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines a TDD pattern in which one cycle consists of a minimum downlink period, an additional downlink period, a guard period, an additional uplink period, and a minimum uplink period, and the period is an integer multiple of the wireless frame.

3. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the control unit assumes that the TDD pattern starts from the beginning of the hyperframe.

4. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines the additional downlink period, guard period, and additional uplink period based on the information relating to the TDD pattern.

5. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines a TDD pattern that repeats a cycle in which the first period and the second period are different TDD patterns.

6. A communication method in which a terminal performs the following steps: receiving information relating to a TDD (Time Division Duplex) pattern from a base station in an NTN (Non-Terrestrial Network); determining a TDD pattern based on the information relating to the TDD pattern, in which one cycle consists of a downlink, a guard period, and an uplink, and the period is an integer multiple of the radio frame; and performing transmission and reception with the base station by applying the determined TDD pattern.

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