Terminal and communication method

Abstract

This terminal comprises: a transmission / reception unit that performs communication using a time division duplex (TDD) pattern including a downlink period, a guard period, and an uplink period and having a first period; and a control unit that controls the communication on the basis of a time frame having a time length that is a non-integer multiple of the first period and having a second period that is longer than the first period. The control unit identifies the arrangement of the TDD pattern in a time domain with reference to the time frame.

Description

Terminal and Communication Method

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

[0002] Technologies for further increasing the communication capacity, further increasing the data transmission speed, and further reducing the latency in the wireless section of a wireless communication system compliant with the 3GPP (Registered Trademark) (3rd Generation Partnership Project) standard are being studied (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1).

[0003] Also, NTN (Non-Terrestrial Network) is being studied. NTN provides services to areas that cannot be covered mainly in terms of cost by terrestrial networks by using non-terrestrial networks such as satellites (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 2).

[0004] Further, IoT-related communications such as NB-IoT (Narrow Band Internet of Things), LTE-Machine Type Communication (MTC), and LTE-M are known (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 3). A terminal that supports such communication (hereinafter referred to as an "IoT terminal") can perform an extended DRX (Discontinuous Reception) operation. In extended DRX, the terminal can perform an intermittent reception operation in a DRX cycle that is an integer multiple of a hyperframe, which is a time frame obtained by bundling a plurality of radio frames. The hyperframe has a time length of, for example, 10240 ms.

[0005] If a communication service can be provided to such an IoT terminal by NTN, it is considered that communication will be possible even for an IoT terminal such as a sensor device installed in an area that cannot be covered by a terrestrial network. Hereinafter, such communication is also referred to as "IoT-NTN communication".

[0006] 3GPP TS 38.300 V18.3.0(2024-09)3GPP TR 38.821 V16.2.0 (2023-03)3GPP TS 36.300 V18.4.0 (2024-12)3GPP TR 36.763 V17.0.0 (2021-06)3GPP TSG RAN Meeting #105, RP-242415, 2024-09

[0007] In IoT-NTN's Time Division Duplex (TDD) mode, which enables direct communication between satellites and IoT terminals, various methods can be considered to avoid interference with existing systems. For example, a TDD pattern with an N radio frame period is recommended (where N is an integer greater than or equal to 2). However, if the period N of this TDD pattern does not match the hyperframe period, it may adversely affect downlink (DL) reception and uplink (UL) transmission. Such problems may occur not only in IoT-NTN but also in various communications that use a TDD pattern with a predetermined period.

[0008] One of the objectives of this disclosure is to appropriately control communication using a TDD pattern of a predetermined period.

[0009] According to the disclosed technology, a terminal is provided comprising: a transceiver that performs NTN (Non-Terrestrial Network) communication using a TDD (Time Division Duplex) pattern that includes a downlink period, a guard period, and an uplink period and has a first period; and a control unit that controls the NTN communication based on a time frame having a time length that is a non-integer multiple of the first period and a second period that is longer than the first period, wherein the control unit identifies the arrangement of the TDD pattern in the time domain with respect to the time frame.

[0010] Figure 1 shows an example of the configuration of an NTN communication system. Figure 2 shows an example of the configuration of an NTN communication system. Figure 3 shows an example of the configuration of an NTN communication system. Figure 4 shows an example of the configuration of an NTN communication system. Figure 5 shows an example of a TDD pattern in NR. Figure 6 shows a basic configuration example of an IoT-NTN TDD pattern. Figure 7 shows a first example of an IoT-NTN TDD pattern. Figure 8 shows a second example of an IoT-NTN TDD pattern. Figure 9 shows a third example of an IoT-NTN TDD pattern. Figure 10 shows a fourth example of an IoT-NTN TDD pattern. Figure 11 shows a fifth example of an IoT-NTN TDD pattern. Figure 12 shows a first example of the offset arrangement in Example 1-1 of the first embodiment. Figure 13 shows a second example of the offset arrangement in Example 1-1 of the first embodiment. Figure 14 shows a third example of the offset arrangement in Example 1-1 of the first embodiment. Figure 15 shows a fourth example of the offset arrangement in Example 1-1 of the first embodiment. Figure 16 shows a fifth example of the offset arrangement in Example 1-1 of the first embodiment. Figure 17 shows a sixth example of the offset arrangement in Example 1-1 of the first embodiment. Figure 18 shows a first example of the offset arrangement in Example 1-2 of the first embodiment. Figure 19 shows a second example of the offset arrangement in Example 1-2 of the first embodiment. Figure 20 shows an example of the IoT-NTN TDD pattern arrangement in Example 2-1 of the first embodiment. Figure 21 shows a first example of a new transmission pattern for DL ​​synchronous signal / SIB in Example 2 of the second embodiment. Figure 22 shows a second example of a new transmission pattern for DL ​​synchronous signal / SIB in Example 2 of the second embodiment. Figure 23 shows a third example of a new transmission pattern for DL ​​synchronous signal / SIB in Embodiment 2 of the second embodiment. Figure 24 shows a first modification of the IoT-NTN TDD pattern in each embodiment. Figure 25 shows a second modification of the IoT-NTN TDD pattern in each embodiment.Figure 26 shows a third modified example of the IoT-NTN TDD pattern in each embodiment. Figure 27 shows a fourth modified example of the IoT-NTN TDD pattern in each embodiment. Figure 28 shows an example of the functional configuration of a base station in each embodiment. Figure 29 shows an example of the functional configuration of a terminal in each embodiment. Figure 30 shows an example of the hardware configuration of a base station and terminal in each embodiment. Figure 31 shows an example of the vehicle configuration in each embodiment.

[0011] Embodiments of this disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. The embodiments described below are merely examples, and the embodiments to which this disclosure applies are not limited to those described below.

[0012] In the following explanation, " / " means "and / or" unless otherwise specified, or unless the context makes it clear that it has a different meaning.

[0013] In the operation of the wireless communication system of the embodiment, existing technologies will be used as appropriate. However, such existing technologies include, for example, existing LTE (Long Term Evolution), but are not limited to existing LTE. Furthermore, the term "LTE" as used in this disclosure has a broad meaning that includes LTE-Advanced and LTE-Advanced and later technologies (for example, NR (New Radio)), unless otherwise specified.

[0014] In the embodiments described below, we will use terms such as Synchronization Signal (SS), Primary SS, Secondary SS, Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH), Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH), Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), and Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), which are commonly used in existing LTE systems. This is for convenience of description, and similar signals, functions, etc., may be referred to by other names. Furthermore, 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 necessary to specify "NR-". Also, the above terms in LTE or NR may be rephrased in NB-IoT as NSS (Narrowband SS), NPSS (Narrowband PSS), NSSS (Narrowband SSS), NPBCH (Narrowband PBCH), NPRACH (Narrowband PRACH), NPDCCH (Narrowband PDCCH), NPDSCH (Narrowband PDSCH), NPUCCH (Narrowband PUCCH), NPUSCH (Narrowband PUSCH), etc.

[0015] In this embodiment, the duplex scheme is a time-division duplex (TDD) scheme in at least some frequency bands, but it is also possible to use a frequency-division duplex (FDD) scheme in other frequency bands (for example, Flexible Duplex).

[0016] In this embodiment, "configuring" wireless parameters means either pre-configuring predetermined values, or configuring wireless parameters notified by a base station or terminal.

[0017] (1) Configuration of the wireless communication system Figures 1 to 4 are diagrams showing an example of the configuration of the NTN communication system.

[0018] As shown in Figure 1, NTN (Terrestrial Telecommunications Network) uses non-terrestrial equipment such as satellites to provide services to areas that cannot be covered by terrestrial networks (TN) primarily due to cost constraints. The area covered by each cell or beam in NTN is significantly larger than that of terrestrial networks. Furthermore, NTN can provide more reliable services. For example, it is envisioned to be applied to IoT, ships, buses, trains, and critical communications. NTN also offers scalability through efficient multicast or broadcast.

[0019] As an example from NTN, satellite 10A can retransmit signals transmitted from ground base station 10B to provide service to area A, for example, mountainous areas, where ground base station 10B is not located. Note that Figure 1 shows one satellite 10A and one ground base station 10B, but this is just an example, and there may be multiple satellites 10A and multiple ground base stations 10B.

[0020] The terrestrial network may also have the following configuration.

[0021] A terrestrial network includes one or more base stations 10 and terminals 20. A 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. Resources in the time domain may be defined by a predetermined number of symbols (e.g., orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM)), and resources in the frequency domain may be defined by a predetermined number of subcarriers or a predetermined number of resource blocks (RB). The base station 10 transmits a synchronization signal (SS) and system information (SI) to the terminals 20. Synchronization signals (SS) are, for example, PSS and SSS. System information (SI) is transmitted, for example, via PBCH or PDSCH, and is also called broadcast information. SI transmitted via PBCH may be called MIB (Master Information Block), and SI transmitted via PDSCH may be called SIB (System Information Block).

[0022] A block containing a synchronization signal (SS) and a PBCH may also be called a synchronization signal block (SSB: Synchronization Signal Block or SS / PBCH Block: Synchronization Signal / Physical Broadcast Channel Block). The base station 10 transmits control signals or data to the terminal 20 on the downlink (DL) and receives control signals or data from the terminal 20 on the uplink (UL). Both the base station 10 and the terminal 20 may perform beamforming to transmit and receive signals. Both the base station 10 and the terminal 20 may also apply multiple input multiple output (MIMO) communication to the DL or UL. Furthermore, both the base station 10 and the terminal 20 may communicate via carrier aggregation (CA) through a secondary cell (SCell) and a primary cell (PCell). Furthermore, terminal 20 may communicate via the PCell of base station 10 and the Primary SCG Cell (PSCell) of other base stations 10 using Dual Connectivity (DC).

[0023] Terminal 20 is a communication device equipped with wireless communication capabilities, such as a smartphone, mobile phone, tablet, wearable device, or communication module (for example, an 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. Terminal 20 also receives various reference signals transmitted from base station 10 and performs propagation path quality measurement based on the reception results of said reference signals.

[0024] As shown in Figure 2, the connection between satellite 10A and ground base station 10B is called a feeder link, and the connection between satellite 10A and terminal 20 is called a service link. Satellite 10A may also be called an NTN payload, as it is the communication equipment mounted on satellite 10A. Ground base station 10B may also be called an NTN gateway, as it functions as a relay point connecting NTN payloads such as satellite 10A to the core network. An NTN gateway may also simply be called a gateway.

[0025] The difference in delay between the near-side terminal 20 and the far-side terminal 20 is, for example, 10.3 ms for a geostationary orbit satellite (GEO), and 3.2 ms for a low-earth orbit satellite (LEO). The NTN beam size is, for example, 3500 km for GEO and 1000 km for LEO.

[0026] As shown in Figure 3, NTNs are realized by satellites in space or flying objects in the air. For example, a GEO may be a satellite located at an altitude of 35,786 km and having a geostationary orbit. For example, a LEO may be a satellite located at an altitude of 500 to 2,000 km and orbiting with a period of 88 to 127 minutes. For example, a High Altitude Platform System (HAPS) may be a flying object located at an altitude of 8 to 50 km and performing orbital flight.

[0027] GEO, LEO, and HAPS may be connected to base station 10C and core network (CN) 10D via ground base station 10B. Base station 10C may include distributed units (DU) and central units (CU). The service area may increase in the order of HAPS, LEO, and GEO.

[0028] For example, NTN can extend network coverage to areas not served by or served by terrestrial networks. Furthermore, NTN can improve the continuity, availability, and reliability of services in ships, buses, trains, or other critical communications. The presence of NTN may be indicated by the transmission of a special parameter to terminal 20, which may be, for example, a parameter related to the determination of timing advance (TA) based on information relating to satellites or aircraft.

[0029] As shown in Figure 4, satellite 10A communicates using a transparent communication method that functions as a simple repeater. Ground base stations 10B, 10C, and CN 10D are connected to satellite 10A. Ground base station 10B is connected to satellite 10A via a feeder link. Satellite 10A is connected to terminal 20A or very small aperture terminal (VSAT) 20B via a service link. A Uu interface is established between base station 10C and terminal 20A or VSAT 20B. In the Uu interface, the physical layer (PHY layer) may perform radio signal transmission and reception, modulation, demodulation, and multiplexing. The MAC (Medium Access Control) layer may perform scheduling and retransmission control (HARQ: Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest). The RLC (Radio Link Control) layer may perform data splitting and retransmission control (ARQ). The Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer may perform encryption, integrity protection, sequence control, and header compression. The Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer may perform radio resource control. Furthermore, in the user plane, the Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer may perform mapping between Quality of Service (QoS) flows and data radio bearers (DRBs) to realize wireless transmission of data received from higher layers.

[0030] This explanation primarily describes the case where the TDD (Technical Deposition Device) system is used as the duplexing system for NTN. The ground cells may be fixed or mobile. Terminal 20 may have the capability to support GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System). For example, a handheld device with Power Class 3 may be assumed for FR1 (Frequency Range 1). Also, VSAT20B may be assumed for at least FR2.

[0031] NTN's network architecture may assume a regenerative communication system in which satellite 10A carries all or part of the functions of base station 10. Alternatively, all or part of the functions of base station 10 may be mounted on satellite 10A or an aircraft. For example, the DU of base station 10C may be mounted on satellite 10A or an aircraft, and the CU of base station 10C may be deployed as a ground base station 10B.

[0032] (2) Overview of IoT-NTN TDD In the wireless communication system according to the embodiment, terminal 20 is, for example, an IoT terminal and performs NTN communication using the TDD method. Specifically, terminal 20 is assumed to be an NB-IoT terminal, but is not limited to this. For example, terminal 20 may be an eMTC (enhanced MTC) terminal, an LTE Cat. 1 terminal, an LTE-M terminal, etc.

[0033] NB-IoT is a Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) wireless communication technology based on LTE, characterized by low power consumption, wide area coverage, and low cost.

[0034] In NB-IoT, communication is performed using wireless frames as the basic unit, similar to LTE. One wireless frame is 10 ms long and is divided into 10 subframes. Each subframe consists of two slots.

[0035] NB-IoT differs from LTE in the following ways:

[0036] - Bandwidth: The system bandwidth of NB-IoT is narrow at 180 kHz, a significant reduction compared to LTE's 20 MHz; - Number of resource blocks (RBs): Communication between the base station 10 and the terminal 20 in NB-IoT uses only one RB (180 kHz bandwidth), which is fewer than the maximum number of RBs in LTE (e.g., 100).

[0037] Furthermore, NB-IoT incorporates hyperframes to achieve low power consumption. Each hyperframe consists of 1024 wireless frames. In other words, the time length (period) of each hyperframe is 10240 ms. Based on this frame structure, NB-IoT terminals suppress power consumption by repeatedly switching between active and sleep states.

[0038] Furthermore, in NB-IoT, repeated transmission is applied to DL and UL. Repeated transmission is the process of repeatedly transmitting the same signal. Repeated transmission has the effect of expanding coverage.

[0039] In this embodiment, with respect to the NB-IoT NTN TDD mode (hereinafter referred to as "IoT-NTN TDD") which enables direct communication between satellites and IoT terminals, the following assumptions 1) to 5) may be assumed (see Non-Patent Document 5).

[0040] 1) As satellite orbit conditions, LEOs at altitudes of 600 km and 1200 km are assumed, and the set-1 satellite parameters, which are the parameter settings for artificial satellites, are used as the reference scenario (see Non-Patent Literature 4); 2) As the frequency band to be used, the MSS (Mobile Satellite Service) allocated band of the 1616-1626.5 MHz band is targeted; 3) As the deployment configuration, a standalone (SA: Stand Alone) deployment using an NB-IoT dedicated carrier is adopted. Specifically, this includes anchor carriers and non-anchor carriers; 4) A ground-fixed tracking area is adopted, and either a ground-fixed cell or a ground-moving cell is used for NGSO (Non-Geostationary Satellite Orbit); 5) In the new IoT-NTN TDD mode, the use of radio resources in the MSS allocated band can be set as a periodic subset of UL subframes and DL subframes in N radio frames. This periodic pattern (hereinafter referred to as the "TDD pattern") has the following characteristics.

[0041] 5-1) Includes non-overlapping UL continuous subframe groups (i.e., UL period) and DL continuous subframe groups (i.e., DL period); 5-2) Includes a guard period; 5-3) Repeats periodically every N radio frames; 5-4) Uses N=9 as the baseline; 5-5) Blind detection is not assumed on the terminal side; 5-6) The value of N and the configuration of the periodic pattern are fixed for each bandwidth.

[0042] The term "TDD pattern" may be used interchangeably with the term "TDD structure."

[0043] Also, the above assumption may include the following objectives: Regarding the TDD pattern, at least the impact on the DL synchronization of the terminal 20 and other aspects are considered. The definition of the new IoT-NTN TDD mode shall be based on the minimum changes from the IoT-NTN FDD frame structure and procedures. The said definition includes the following contents. First, define the periodic pattern. Second, determine the configuration and signaling of the periodic pattern as necessary. Third, confirm the value of N. Fourth, define the related UE procedures.

[0044] The following matters shown in 1) to 3) may be assumed (see Non-Patent Document 5).

[0045] 1) Regarding the offset between the 90 ms TDD structure and the 10240 ms Hyper System Frame Number (H-SFN), the following multiple consideration options are being considered.

[0046] Option 1) Adopt the same offset between H-SFNs. There are two implementation methods for this option. In the first method, change the duration of the H-SFN to X radio frames. Here, X is a multiple of 9. In the second method, do not change the duration of the H-SFN.

[0047] Option 2) Adopt different offsets between H-SFNs. There are two implementation methods for this option. In the first method, the terminal 20 recognizes the offset between the H-SFN and the 90 ms TDD structure. This recognition is performed based on the DL signal. The said DL signal is any one of NPSS (Narrowband PSS), NSSS (Narrowband SSS), NPBCCH (Narrowband PBCH) (or MIB transmitted by NPBCCH), or SIB1-NB (SIB1 for Narrowband-IoT) (SIB transmitted by NPDSCH or NPDSCH). In the second method, change the total number of H-SFNs to a multiple of 9.

[0048] 2) Approaches to dealing with the overlap between NPUSCH (Narrowband PUSCH) and non-UL subframes, and the overlap between NPRACH (Narrowband PRACH) and non-UL subframes are also being studied. Here, a non-UL subframe refers to a subframe not used for the UL of NB-IoT. As approaches to dealing with this overlap problem, at least the following multiple methods are being studied. The first method is to introduce a new periodicity adapted to the TDD structure. The second method is to postpone the transmission of the corresponding channel when channel overlap with non-UL subframes occurs. The third method is to completely restrict the transmission of a channel within a single UL subframe group. Here, a UL subframe refers to a subframe used for the UL of NB-IoT. The fourth method is to partially or completely drop the corresponding channel when channel overlap with non-UL subframes occurs. The fifth method is to consider the impact on segmented pre-compensation.

[0049] 3) Methods for addressing the overlap between NPDCCH (Narrowband PDCCH) and NPDSCH (Narrowband PDSCH) and non-DL subframes are also being considered. Here, NPDSCH carrying SIB1-NB is excluded. Non-DL subframes refer to subframes not used for DL ​​of NB-IoT. This overlap problem includes the following: the starting point of NPDCCH and NPDSCH, the window for SI or Random Access Response (RAR), the window size for other DL channels and signals, and Paging Occasion (PO). At least the following methods are being considered to address these overlap problems: The first method introduces a new periodicity that matches the TDD structure. The second method postpones the transmission of the channel in question when channel overlap with a non-DL subframe occurs. The third method completely restricts channel transmission to a single group of DL subframes. Here, DL subframes refer to subframes used for NB-IoT downlink. The fourth method involves partially or completely dropping the channel in the event of channel overlap with non-DL subframes. Furthermore, according to the specifications, non-DL subframes do not necessarily have to be considered NB-IoT DL subframes.

[0050] As described above, in IoT-NTN TDD mode, it is recommended that the period of the TDD pattern be N wireless frames. In particular, when N=9 is used, the period of one TDD pattern is 90ms. This value of N=9 was chosen to avoid interference with existing systems operating in the frequency band (e.g., Iridium systems). However, a TDD pattern with a period of 90ms is not compatible with the 10240ms hyperframe used in NB-IoT systems. This mismatch is expected to lead to the following technical challenges.

[0051] The first challenge is how to position the IoT-NTN TDD pattern within the timing structure of the NB-IoT system. Specifically, it is a matter of how to determine the positioning or offset of the TDD pattern from the perspective of the NB-IoT system.

[0052] The second challenge is how to set the periodicity of the DL synchronization signal (SS) to match a 90ms period.

[0053] The third challenge is how to handle situations where other DL channels or signals overlap with non-DL subframes.

[0054] The fourth challenge is how to handle situations where a UL channel or signal overlaps with a non-UL subframe.

[0055] Therefore, in the following embodiments, we will focus particularly on solving the first and second problems in order to provide technical means for realizing IoT-NTN communication using the TDD method.

[0056] In the following explanation, the following terms may be used interchangeably.

[0057] - "Slot" and "Subframe", - "Hyperframe" and "H-SFN" and "SFN", - "IoT" and "NB-IoT", - "Periodicity" and "Periodicity", - "Terminal" and "IoT Terminal" and "NB-IoT Terminal", - "Network" and "Base Station", - "Duration" and "Period", - "TDD Pattern" and "IoT-NTN TDD Pattern".

[0058] Figure 5 shows an example of a TDD pattern in NR.

[0059] As shown in Figure 5, one wireless frame may be a frame with a duration consisting of 10 slots, from slot #0 to slot #9. In the example in Figure 5, slots #0 to #6 are DL slots, and slots #8 to #9 are UL slots. Slot #7 has DL symbols from symbol #0 to symbol #9, flexible symbols from symbol #10 to symbol #12, and a UL symbol for symbol #13. A flexible symbol may be, for example, a symbol that can be dynamically assigned to either a UL symbol or a DL symbol at the discretion of the base station 10. Note that the TDD pattern shown in Figure 5 is merely an example, and the ratio of DL slots to UL slots, and the ratio of DL symbols, flexible symbols, and UL symbols are not limited to those shown.

[0060] In NTN communications, as described above, significant propagation delays occur depending on the orbital altitude. In TDD operation, to address these propagation delays, it is necessary to ensure sufficient guard time when switching from DL symbols to UL symbols. Therefore, a periodic TDD pattern may be defined for application to IoT-NTN. For example, this definition may include a pattern of consecutive DL and UL slots and a guard period (DL-UL gap). This TDD pattern may be fixed or configurable. Specifically, the TDD pattern may be pre-configured in the terminal 20, or the terminal 20 may receive configuration information regarding the TDD pattern from the base station 10C and configure the TDD pattern based on that configuration information.

[0061] Figure 6 shows a basic configuration example of the IoT-NTN TDD pattern.

[0062] As shown in Figure 6, the periodic TDD pattern may be a pattern in which a non-overlapping set of available consecutive DL subframes or slots, a guard period (DL-UL gap), and a set of available consecutive UL subframes or slots are periodic every N wireless frames with N=9 as the baseline.

[0063] The following descriptions 1) to 4) may be used for periodic TDD patterns applied to IoT-NTN.

[0064] 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 TDD pattern applied to IoT-NTN in wireless frames; 4) "G" indicates the length or duration of the guard period (DL-UL gap).

[0065] Here, in order to design a periodic TDD pattern for TDD applied to IoT-NTN, the following three operations may be performed by the network / terminal 20.

[0066] Operation 1) Two options are considered for designing periodic TDD patterns for TDD applied to IoT-NTN; Operation 2) Details of Option 1 in Operation 1 include periodicity, granularity, candidate / minimum / maximum D / U / G values, and instructions for the TDD pattern(s) to be applied to IoT-NTN; Operation 3) Details of Option 2 in Operation 1 include periodicity, granularity, candidate / minimum / maximum D / U / G values, and instructions for the TDD pattern(s) to be applied to IoT-NTN.

[0067] The following describes the two options for operation 1).

[0068] Figure 7 shows a first example of the IoT-NTN TDD pattern.

[0069] As shown in Figure 7, option 1 may be, for example, 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 (System Information Block) / terminal-specific RRC (Radio Resource Control) (dedicated RRC) signaling.

[0070] Figure 8 shows a second example of the IoT-NTN TDD pattern.

[0071] As shown in Figure 8, Option 2 may be, for example, D_min + D_flex + G + U_flex + U_min = N * 10 [ms]. Here, D_min is the minimum number of DL subframes or slots. 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 period of the DL.

[0072] In the TDD pattern of Option 2, D = D_min + D_flex may also be used.

[0073] In the TDD pattern of Option 2, U = U_min + U_flex may also be the case, and the order may be U = U_flex + U_min. Here, U_min is the minimum number of UL subframes or slots. 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 period of the UL.

[0074] D_min / U_min may be fixed lengths. D_flex / G / U_flex may be set to semi-static. This can reduce overhead.

[0075] Alternatively, D_min / U_min may be of a fixed length or may be set quasi-statically. D_flex / G / U_flex may be dynamically notified in addition to being set quasi-statically. This provides flexibility.

[0076] The following describes operations 2) and 3). For operations 2) and 3), the arrangement of the TDD pattern applied to IoT-NTN may be defined as shown in Figures 9 to 11 below.

[0077] Figure 9 shows a third example of the IoT-NTN TDD pattern.

[0078] As shown in Figure 9, the TDD pattern applied to IoT-NTN may be aligned to the beginning of each hyperframe (i.e., SFN#0). Each hyperframe may consist of 1024 wireless frames. Note that a hyperframe is an example of a time frame.

[0079] Figure 10 shows a fourth example of the IoT-NTN TDD pattern.

[0080] As shown in Figure 10, the TDD pattern applied to IoT-NTN may be aligned to the beginning of any wireless frame or a predefined wireless frame.

[0081] Figure 11 shows a fifth example of the IoT-NTN TDD pattern.

[0082] As shown in Figure 11, the TDD pattern applied to IoT-NTN may be aligned to the beginning of any subframe or a predefined subframe.

[0083] As described above, possible methods for determining the placement of TDD patterns applied to IoT-NTN include placing them at the beginning of the hyperframe, at the beginning of the wireless frame, and at the beginning of the subframe. However, in actual operation, in order to avoid interference with existing systems, it is necessary to resolve the mismatch that occurs between the 90ms period TDD pattern and the 10240ms hyperframe.

[0084] (3) First Embodiment The first embodiment is an embodiment mainly for solving the first problem. The first problem is how to arrange the IoT-NTN TDD pattern within the timing structure of the NB-IoT system. The first embodiment defines a method for determining the arrangement of the IoT-NTN TDD pattern, taking into account compatibility with the hyperframe.

[0085] Terminal 20 performs NTN communication using a TDD pattern that includes a downlink period (D), a guard period (G), and an uplink period (U), and has a first period. Furthermore, terminal 20 controls NTN communication based on a time frame that has a second period that is a non-integer multiple of the first period and is longer than the first period. In addition, terminal 20 identifies the arrangement of the TDD pattern in the time domain based on the time frame.

[0086] Here, "first period" refers to the period of the TDD pattern, which may be N=9 or 90 ms. "Time frame" refers to the hyperframe described above. However, a different term from "hyperframe" may be used. A "time frame" is a frame unit that has a time length that is a non-integer multiple of the first period and has a second period that is longer than the first period. "Second period" refers to the period of the "time frame," which is 10240 ms.

[0087] However, the "first period" does not have to be 90 ms, and the "second period" does not have to be 10240 ms. As long as the "second period" is a non-integer multiple of the "first period," the respective time lengths of the "first period" and the "second period" can be set arbitrarily.

[0088] (3.1) Example 1 of the First Embodiment In Example 1 of this embodiment, terminal 20 stops NTN communication during an offset time provided before or after the TDD pattern in the time domain, within the time of the hyperframe. The offset time is a time in the hyperframe that corresponds to a subframe / radio frame that is not an integer multiple of the TDD period. The gap / offset may be applied to DL symbols / UL symbols or to flexible symbols (flexible DL symbols / flexible UL symbols). The term "offset time" can be used interchangeably with the terms "offset" or "gap". Base station 10 also stops NTN communication with terminal 20 during an offset time provided before or after the TDD pattern in the time domain, within the time of the hyperframe.

[0089] (3.1.1) Example 1-1 of the First Embodiment In Example 1-1 of this embodiment, the arrangement of IoT-NTN TDD patterns in the hyperframe is fixed (predefined), and the arrangement of offsets in the hyperframe is also fixed (predefined). In this case, the base station 10 and the terminal 20 each store the arrangement of IoT-NTN TDD patterns and offsets in the hyperframe in advance and perform NTN communication using the pre-stored arrangements. However, the base station 10 may notify (instruct) the terminal 20 about the arrangement of offsets in this embodiment.

[0090] Figure 12 shows a first example of the offset arrangement in Example 1-1 of the first embodiment. In this example, the offset is placed at the beginning of each hyperframe.

[0091] As shown in Figure 12, a fixed offset M [ms] (e.g., M = 70) may be provided between the start of a periodic hyperframe (i.e., SFN #0) and the start of the first IoT-NTN TDD pattern. The end of the last IoT-NTN TDD pattern may coincide with the end of the hyperframe.

[0092] Specifically, if the period of the TDD pattern is 90 ms and the period of the hyperframe is 10240 ms, then 113 TDD patterns can be placed within the hyperframe, leaving 70 ms of time remaining. In this embodiment, an offset is placed at the beginning of the hyperframe, followed by 113 consecutive TDD patterns. In this embodiment, the offset is set to 70 ms, but it is not limited to 70 ms and may be other values.

[0093] Figure 13 shows a second example of the offset arrangement in Example 1-1 of the first embodiment. In this example, the offset is placed at the end of each hyperframe.

[0094] As shown in Figure 13, a fixed offset M [ms] (for example, M = 70) may be provided between the end of the hyperframe and the end of the last IoT-NTN TDD pattern. The start of the first IoT-NTN TDD pattern may coincide with the start of the periodic hyperframe (i.e., SFN #0). In this embodiment, 113 consecutive TDD patterns are placed from the beginning of the hyperframe, and then the offset is placed at the end of the hyperframe.

[0095] Figure 14 shows a third example of the offset arrangement in Example 1-1 of the first embodiment. In this example, one offset is placed in each hyperframe at an intermediate position, not at the beginning or end.

[0096] As shown in Figure 14, a fixed offset M [ms] (e.g., M = 70) may be configured / indicated before / after any 90ms IoT-NTN TDD pattern / predefined 90ms IoT-NTN TDD pattern. In this embodiment, one TDD pattern is placed at the beginning of the hyperframe, followed by the offset, and then 113 consecutive TDD patterns are placed thereafter.

[0097] Figure 15 shows a fourth example of the offset arrangement in Example 1-1 of the first embodiment. In this example, an offset is placed immediately after each TDD pattern in each hyperframe. That is, the same number of offsets as TDD patterns are placed within each hyperframe.

[0098] As shown in Figure 15, a fixed offset M [ms] (for example, M = 12.4) may be provided after each IoT-NTN TDD pattern. The start of the first IoT-NTN TDD pattern may coincide with the start of a periodic hyperframe (i.e., SFN #0). In this embodiment, 100 TDD patterns and offsets are arranged in the order of TDD pattern and offset from the beginning of the hyperframe.

[0099] Figure 16 shows a fifth example of the offset arrangement in Example 1-1 of the first embodiment. In this example, an offset is placed immediately before each TDD pattern in each hyperframe. That is, the same number of offsets as TDD patterns are placed within each hyperframe.

[0100] As shown in Figure 16, a fixed offset M [ms] (for example, M = 12.4) may be placed before each IoT-NTN TDD pattern. The end of the last IoT-NTN TDD pattern may coincide with the end of the hyperframe. In this embodiment, 100 offsets and TDD patterns are arranged in that order from the beginning of the hyperframe.

[0101] With the configuration shown in Figures 15 and 16, the fixed offset M shown in Figures 12 to 14 is distributed within each hyperframe, thereby improving compatibility with conventional NB-IoT systems.

[0102] Furthermore, in the hyperframe, the total offset / gap of 70 ms (M=70) may be divided into two or more parts. Each of these parts may be set / instructed to be positioned before / after an arbitrary / predefined 90 ms IoT-NTN TDD pattern.

[0103] Figure 17 shows a sixth example of the offset arrangement in Example 1-1 of the first embodiment.

[0104] As shown in Figure 17, a fixed offset M1 [ms] (e.g., M1 = 30) may be provided between the start of a periodic hyperframe (i.e., SFN #0) and the start of the first IoT-NTN TDD pattern. Alternatively, a fixed offset M2 [ms] (e.g., M2 = 40) may be provided between the end of a hyperframe and the end of the last IoT-NTN TDD pattern. Here, M = M1 + M2 may also be used.

[0105] With the above configuration, it is possible to maintain the periodicity of the TDD pattern while ensuring consistency with the periodicity of the hyperframe.

[0106] (3.1.2) Example 1-2 of the First Embodiment In Example 1-2 of this embodiment, the arrangement of the IoT-NTN TDD pattern and offset in the hyperframe is notified (instructed) from the base station 10 to the terminal 20. The time length of the offset may also be notified (instructed) from the base station 10 to the terminal 20. This makes it possible to make the position and / or time length of the offset variable, enabling flexible arrangement. The position of the IoT-NTN TDD pattern and offset in the hyperframe may be set / instructed by the network. Information on the offset (subframe / radio frame) time between the start of the IoT-NTN TDD pattern in the hyperframe and the start of the periodic hyperframe (i.e., SFN#0) may be set / instructed by the network. Thus, the terminal 20 may receive information about the offset from the base station 10 and determine the temporal arrangement (timing) of the IoT-NTN TDD pattern for the hyperframe based on the offset information. The offset information may, but is not limited to, indicate at least one of the position and time duration of each offset.

[0107] In Examples 1-2, the IoT-NTN TDD pattern setting and the offset setting may be set separately in the terminal 20. The IoT-NTN TDD pattern / offset may be terminal-specific (UE-specific), cell-specific (cell-specific), or common to multiple cells.

[0108] The above offset information may be set / instructed to the terminal 20 by broadcast information (e.g., MIB (Master Information Block) / SIB) from the base station 10. The above offset information may also be set / instructed to the terminal 20 by UE-specific signaling (e.g., RRC signaling, MAC signaling) / physical layer signaling (e.g., Downlink Control Information (DCI)).

[0109] The above offset may be set / indicated for the first IoT-NTN TDD pattern. The above offset may be set / indicated for each IoT-NTN TDD period, for each period of multiple IoT-NTN TDDs, or for each hyperframe.

[0110] Figure 18 shows a first example of the offset arrangement in Example 1-2 of the first embodiment.

[0111] As shown in Figure 18, offset X is placed at the beginning of the hyperframe, and offset Y is placed at the end of the hyperframe. Offset X may be set / instructed by the base station 10 to the terminal 20 so that it is placed between the beginning of the first IoT-NTN TDD pattern in the hyperframe and the beginning of the hyperframe. The duration of offset X may be set / instructed by the base station 10 to the terminal 20. Offset Y may also be set / instructed / determined by the base station 10 to the terminal 20 so that it is placed between the end of the hyperframe and the end of the last IoT-NTN TDD pattern in the hyperframe. The duration of offset Y may be set / instructed by the base station 10 to the terminal 20.

[0112] Terminal 20 may calculate offset Y based on offset X, based on the periodicity of TDD, or based on the periodicity of both offset X and TDD. Alternatively, terminal 20 may explicitly set / instruct offset Y from the network (base station 10), either together with offset X or separately from offset X.

[0113] Figure 19 shows a second example of the offset arrangement in Example 1-2 of the first embodiment.

[0114] As shown in Figure 19, the offsets (X1, ..., XK) placed immediately before each TDD pattern may be set / instructed from the base station 10 to the terminal 20 for each periodicity of the IoT-NTN TDD pattern. Specifically, an offset may be set individually for each IoT-NTN TDD pattern in a hyperframe. Here, K may represent the number of IoT-NTN TDD patterns in one hyperframe. That is, for each IoT-NTN TDD pattern in a hyperframe, an individual offset value may be set / instructed to the terminal 20 by the network (base station 10). For example, Figure 19 shows the X1 offset, which is the offset before the first IoT-NTN TDD pattern (9 wireless frames) in one hyperframe, and the XK offset, which is the offset before the Kth IoT-NTN TDD pattern (9 wireless frames). Thus, the Xk offset (k=1, ..., K), which is the offset before the k-th (k=1, ..., K) IoT-NTN TDD pattern (9 wireless frames) in the hyperframe, may be an offset value relative to the beginning of the hyperframe, and may be set / instructed by the base station 10 to the terminal 20, but is not limited to this. For example, the Xk offset (k=1, ..., K) (the temporal arrangement (timing) of the k-th IoT-NTN TDD pattern (9 wireless frames)) may be derived by the terminal 20 based on an offset value set / instructed by the base station 10 to the terminal 20. Alternatively, the Xk offset (k=1, ..., K) may be set / instructed by the base station 10 to the terminal 20 as an offset value relative to the end of the (k-1)th IoT-NTN TDD pattern (9 wireless frames). In this case, if the time lengths of the Xk offsets (k=1, ..., K) are the same, one offset value may be set / instructed by the base station 10 to the terminal 20.

[0115] As shown in Figure 19, the offset Y may be set / instructed by the base station 10 to the terminal 20, or determined by the terminal 20, so that it is positioned between the end of the hyperframe and the end of the last IoT-NTN TDD pattern in the hyperframe.

[0116] Terminal 20 may calculate offset Y based on the offsets (X1, ..., XK) and the periodicity of the TDD. Alternatively, terminal 20 may explicitly set / instruct offset Y from the network (base station 10) together with the offsets (X1, ..., XK) or separately from the offsets (X1, ..., XK).

[0117] With the above configuration, the network can flexibly control the offset between IoT-NTN TDD and NB-IoT systems.

[0118] (3.2) Example 2 of the First Embodiment In Example 1 of the First Embodiment described above, since multiple TDD patterns fit within a hyperframe, the TDD patterns do not straddle (cross) the hyperframe boundary. In contrast, in this embodiment, the IoT-NTN TDD pattern may cross the 10240ms hyperframe boundary. In this embodiment, the base station 10 and the terminal 20 perform NTN communication using a TDD pattern arrangement in which the beginning of one hyperframe coincides with the beginning of one TDD pattern, and TDD patterns after that TDD pattern cross the hyperframe boundary.

[0119] (3.2.1) Example 2-1 of the First Embodiment Figure 20 shows an example of an IoT-NTN TDD pattern arrangement in Example 2-1 of the First Embodiment.

[0120] As shown in Figure 20, the beginning of a series of hyperframes coincides with the beginning of a series of IoT-NTN TDD patterns. Subsequently, any frame within the IoT-NTN TDD pattern crosses the hyperframe boundary. Here, the crossing IoT-NTN TDD pattern may be a later IoT-NTN TDD pattern than the first IoT-NTN TDD pattern. Also, the starting position of the TDD pattern may coincide with SFN#0 of the first hyperframe. In this embodiment, each TDD pattern is consecutive and no offsets are placed before or after each TDD pattern, but the offsets of Embodiment 1-1 / Embodiment 1-2 may be placed before or after each TDD pattern.

[0121] The arrangement / offset of the IoT-NTN TDD pattern in the hyperframe may be set / instructed from the network (base station 10) to the terminal 20, or it may be predefined.

[0122] (3.2.2) Example 2-2 of the First Embodiment The above-described Example 1-2 of the First Embodiment and Example 2-1 of the First Embodiment may be implemented in combination. In Example 1-2 of the First Embodiment, for example, as shown in Figure 18, an offset X was placed at the beginning of the hyperframe and an offset Y was placed at the end of the hyperframe. In this embodiment, however, the placement of offset X as in Example 1-2 may be reused regardless of the offset of Y [ms]. In other words, the terminal 20 uses the information of offset X at the beginning of the hyperframe (offset information X), which is predefined / notified (instructed) by the base station 10, but may determine the temporal arrangement (timing) of the IoT-NTN TDD pattern without using the information of offset Y at the end of the hyperframe. As a result, any frame within the IoT-NTN TDD pattern may cross the hyperframe boundary. In this case, the information of offset Y at the end of the hyperframe (offset information Y) may be undefined / notified (instructed) by the base station 10.

[0123] The above configuration reduces interference with the existing Iridium system. For example, the TDD pattern arrangement in this embodiment may match the TDD pattern arrangement of the Iridium system. This further reduces interference with the Iridium system. In addition, the IoT-NTN TDD pattern can be operated continuously without being constrained by hyperframe boundaries. Furthermore, the continuity of the TDD pattern is guaranteed, preventing interruptions in data transmission.

[0124] (4) Second Embodiment The second embodiment will be described mainly in terms of the differences from the first embodiment. The second embodiment is an embodiment mainly for solving the second problem. The second problem is how to set the periodicity of the DL synchronization signal (SS) to match a 90 ms period. In the second embodiment, a new period may be defined for the DL synchronization signal / system information block (SIB) of the NB-IoT system in order to match the period (90 ms) of the IoT-NTN TDD pattern.

[0125] In the second embodiment, the base station 10 may transmit the DL sync signal / SIB at a period that is an integer multiple of the first period (90 ms), which is the period of the IoT-NTN TDD pattern. The terminal 20 may receive the DL sync signal / SIB at a period that is an integer multiple of the first period (90 ms).

[0126] (4.1) Example 1 of the Second Embodiment In this embodiment, the period for the DL synchronization signal of the NB-IoT system is extended. The periodicity for the DL synchronization signal may be extended to a value obtained by multiplying the conventional periodicity by N, where N is the periodicity of the TDD pattern in the wireless frame / subframe. The conventional periodicity may be the periodicity defined prior to 3GPP Release 18.

[0127] (4.1.1) Example 1-1 of the second embodiment For example, N may be a value such as 8 / 9 / 10 / 12. For example, the periodicity of NPSS may be extended from 10 ms to 90 ms. For example, the periodicity of NSSS may be extended from 20 ms to 180 ms. For example, the periodicity of NPBCH may be extended from 640 ms to 5760 ms. Alternatively, the periodicity of NPBCH may be extended from 64 transmissions in a 640 ms period to 8 transmissions in a 640 ms period. For example, the periodicity of SIB1-NB may be extended from 20 ms to 180 ms. Alternatively, the periodicity of SIB1-NB may be extended from 8 transmissions in 160 ms to 1 transmission in 160 ms.

[0128] (4.1.2) Example 1-2 of the second embodiment For example, the new period for the DL sync signal / SIB of the NB-IoT system may be N / 2 or N / 3 times the conventional periodicity. For example, the new period for the DL sync signal of the NB-IoT system may be different for each reference signal / channel.

[0129] The above configuration ensures synchronization timing consistency between the IoT-NTN TDD pattern period and the NB-IoT system.

[0130] (4.2) Example 2 of the second embodiment A new transmission pattern may be defined for DL ​​synchronization signals / system information (e.g., at least one of MIB and SIB) of an NB-IoT system. New periods Xa and Xb may be defined for a radio frame / subframe, where the new period Xb is applied to the transmission of DL synchronization signals / system information for a portion of the new period Xa (i.e., within the radio frame / subframe that is the first period Y [ms] of the new period Xa), and no transmission may be performed for the remainder of the new period Xa. In other words, the transmission of DL synchronization signals / system information may be muted for the remainder of the new period Xa. The remainder may be (Xa - Y) [ms].

[0131] The base station 10 may transmit DL synchronization signals / system information in the first period Y [ms] of the new period Xa during the radio frame / subframe, at the period of the new period Xb. The base station 10 does not have to transmit DL synchronization signals / system information for the remainder of the new period Xa.

[0132] The following relationships may be satisfied for the above values ​​of Xa, Xb, and Y: • Xa is greater than Xb, i.e., Xa > Xb; • Xa is greater than Y, i.e., Xa > Y.

[0133] Xa may be the same as the period of the TDD pattern (8 / 9 / 10 wireless frames). Alternatively, Xa may be the same as the new periodicity of Embodiment 1 of this embodiment.

[0134] Xb may be the same as the period of the conventional DL synchronization signal / system information. Xb may also be the same as the NPSS transmission period.

[0135] Y may be the first transmission period within Xa. Y may be calculated by the base station 10 / terminal 20 based on the information of Xa / Xb. For example, Y may be calculated by the base station 10 / terminal 20 based on at least one of the calculation formulas for Xa / 2, Xa / 3, and Xa / 4. Alternatively, Y may be the same as the minimum / maximum consecutive DL subframes of the TDD pattern. Alternatively, Y may be a value specified as a fixed value in the specification and assumed by terminal 20 before initial access. Y may be set / instructed / updated by the network via SIB / terminal-specific RRC.

[0136] Different Y and Xb may be assigned to different Xa. The base station 10 may set different Y and Xb information for different Xa and transmit this information to the terminal 20.

[0137] Xa, Xb, and Y may be predefined as transmission patterns for each DL synchronization signal / SIB, or they may be set / instructed to the terminal 20 by the network (base station 10). For example, Xa and Y may be predefined, and Xb may be set / instructed to the terminal 20 by the network (base station 10). Alternatively, Y may be predefined, and Xa and Xb may be set / instructed to the terminal 20 by the network (base station 10).

[0138] For different DL synchronization signals / system information, Xa, Xb, and Y may be the same or different. For example, in the case of DL synchronization signals NPSS and NSSS, Xb may be different for NPSS and NSSS respectively, while Xa and Y may be the same.

[0139] Figure 21 shows a first example of a new transmission pattern for DL ​​synchronization signals / system information in Embodiment 2 of the second embodiment. As shown in Figure 21, a new period Xa [ms] (Xa = 90) is defined, and the base station 10 may transmit DL synchronization signals / system information to the terminal 20 at a period of Xb [ms] (Xb = 10) during the first period Y [ms] (Y = 20) of this new period Xa. In other words, for the remaining period (Xa - Y) [ms] (70 ms) of the new period Xa [ms] (Xa = 90), the base station 10 does not need to transmit DL synchronization signals / system information.

[0140] Figure 22 shows a second example of a new transmission pattern for DL ​​synchronization signals / system information in Embodiment 2 of the second embodiment.

[0141] As shown in Figure 22, a new period Xa [ms] (Xa = 90) is defined, and the base station 10 may transmit DL synchronization signals / system information to the terminal 20 at a period of Xb [ms] (Xb = 10) during the first period Y [ms] (Y = 60) of this new period Xa. In other words, for the remaining period (Xa - Y) [ms] (30 ms) of the new period Xa [ms] (Xa = 90), the base station 10 does not need to transmit DL synchronization signals / system information.

[0142] Figure 23 shows a third example of a new transmission pattern for DL ​​synchronization signals / system information in Example 2 of the second embodiment.

[0143] As shown in Figure 23, a new period Xa [ms] (Xa = 90) is defined, and the base station 10 may transmit DL synchronization signals / system information to the terminal 20 at a period of Xb [ms] (Xb = 20) during the first period Y [ms] (Y = 60) of this new period Xa. In other words, for the remaining period (Xa - Y) [ms] (30 ms) of the new period Xa [ms] (Xa = 90), the base station 10 does not need to transmit DL synchronization signals / system information.

[0144] As described above, the above configuration enables flexible control of DL synchronization signal / system information transmission according to system requirements and operating conditions. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 23, by setting the DL synchronization signal to a new period (20 ms) that is longer than the conventional period (10 ms), the transmission frequency of the DL synchronization signal can be reduced, leading to power savings in IoT terminals.

[0145] (5) Modification 1 The IoT-NTN TDD pattern in each embodiment may include at least the following modifications. Terminal 20 may perform NTN communication using the following IoT-NTN TDD pattern.

[0146] (5.1) Pattern 1 Figure 24 shows a first modified example of the IoT-NTN TDD pattern in each embodiment.

[0147] As shown in Figure 24, the IoT-NTN TDD pattern, which is composed of nine wireless frames, may be composed of D, G, and U in that order.

[0148] (5.2) Pattern 2 Figure 25 shows a second modified example of the IoT-NTN TDD pattern in each embodiment.

[0149] As shown in Figure 25, the IoT-NTN TDD pattern, which is composed of nine wireless frames, may be configured in the order D, G, U, D.

[0150] (5.3) Pattern 3 Figure 26 shows a third modified example of the IoT-NTN TDD pattern in each embodiment.

[0151] As shown in Figure 26, the IoT-NTN TDD pattern composed within the duration of 9 wireless frames may be configured in the order G, U, D, G.

[0152] (5.4) Pattern 4 Figure 27 shows a fourth modified example of the IoT-NTN TDD pattern in each embodiment.

[0153] As shown in Figure 27, the IoT-NTN TDD pattern composed within the duration of 9 wireless frames may be configured in the order U, D, G, U.

[0154] If the IoT-NTN TDD pattern does not begin with D, as in Patterns 3 and 4 above, at least one of the values ​​of Xa, Xb, and Y in Example 2 of the second embodiment may be changed according to the IoT-NTN TDD pattern. For example, the values ​​of Xa, Xb, and Y may be dedicated parameters that apply to D in the IoT-NTN TDD pattern.

[0155] The above modifications allow for the selection of the optimal TDD pattern according to communication requirements and wireless environment.

[0156] (6) Modification 2 Terminal 20 may report the following Capability Information to the network (base station 10): - Capability information relating to each embodiment - Capability information relating to each embodiment or combination of embodiments in each embodiment - Capability information relating to each modification or combination of modifications Terminal 20 may report the above capability information to the network for each frequency / each terminal 20 / each FR1 / each FR2 / each FR2-1 / each FR2-2 / each Subcarrier Spacing (SCS) / each Band Combination (BC) / each FC / each Feature Set Per Component-carrier (FSPC).

[0157] Terminal 20 may report the above capability information to the network (base station 10) for each cell, each terminal 20, and each TDD and FDD.

[0158] The above modification 2 enables the reporting of optimal capability information at each level.

[0159] (7) Modification 3 In each embodiment of the present disclosure, which embodiment / which embodiment or modification the base station 10 / terminal 20 applies to may be determined by one of the following methods.

[0160] - Upper layer parameters (e.g., settings by RRC parameters) - Determination by relevant upper layer parameters (e.g., RRC parameters) - Instructions by physical layer signaling (e.g., DCI, MAC CE (Control Element) signaling) - Determination based on capability information of terminal 20 - Determination based on content described in the specification - Determination based on conditions described in the specification - Determination by a combination of the above upper layer parameters / the above physical layer signaling settings and the reported capability information of terminal 20 In each embodiment of this disclosure, the base station 10 / terminal 20 may combine multiple embodiments and multiple modifications as one embodiment / modification.

[0161] In each embodiment of the present disclosure, terminal 20 may assume that a particular embodiment, example, or modification is applicable only if terminal 20 reports to the network (base station 10) that it supports a particular function or model.

[0162] The above modifications enable optimal control according to the system's status.

[0163] (8) Modification 4 In each embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal 20 may receive the following types of information from the network (base station 10). In the following, "new" may mean the content defined in 3GPP Release 19 or later. Also, "existing" may mean the content defined in 3GPP Release 18 or earlier.

[0164] - Information via upper-layer signaling (e.g., RRC messages / LPP (LTE Positioning Protocol) messages) - Information via MAC CE - Information via MAC CE including a new LCID (Logical Channel ID) in the subheader - Information via MAC CE that extends an existing MAC CE (e.g., a new octet may be introduced as an extension of an existing MAC CE) - Information via DCI - Information via an existing DCI field or a newly introduced DCI field - Information via DCI scrambled with an existing RNTI (Radio Network Temporary Identifier) ​​or a newly introduced RNTI (CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check)) - Information via an existing DCI format or a newly introduced DCI format - A combination of the above information In each embodiment of this disclosure, the terminal 20 may receive the above information from the network (base station 10) in the following periodic types.

[0165] Option 1: Periodically Option 2: Semi-persistent Option 3: Aperiodic Options 2 and 3 above may be triggered by instructions from terminal 20 or base station 10.

[0166] Through the above modifications, IoT devices can receive information from the network in the most optimal way, depending on the type and timing of the information.

[0167] (9) Modification 5 In each embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal 20 may transmit the following types of information to the network (base station 10). In the following, "new" may mean the content specified in 3GPP Release 19 or later. Also, "existing" may mean the content specified in 3GPP Release 18 or earlier.

[0168] - Information via upper-layer signaling (e.g., RRC messages / LPP messages) - Information via MAC CE - Information via MAC CE including a new LCID in the subheader - Information via MAC CE that extends an existing MAC CE (e.g., a new octet may be introduced as an extension of an existing MAC CE) - Information via UCI - UCI on PUCCH or PUSCH - A combination of the above information In each embodiment of this disclosure, the terminal 20 may transmit the above information to the network (base station 10) in the following periodic types.

[0169] Option 1: Periodically Option 2: Semi-persistent Option 3: Aperiodic Options 2 and 3 above may be triggered by instructions from terminal 20 or base station 10.

[0170] Through the above modifications, IoT devices can transmit information to the network in the most optimal way, depending on the type and timing of the information.

[0171] As described above, according to each of the embodiments, communication using a TDD pattern with a predetermined period can be appropriately controlled.

[0172] (10) Device Configuration An example of the functional configuration of the base station 10 and terminal 20 that perform the processing and operations described above will be described. The base station 10 and terminal 20 include functions to carry out the above embodiments / examples. However, the base station 10 and terminal 20 may each be equipped with only some of the functions in the embodiment.

[0173] (10.1) Base station configuration diagram 28 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a base station in each embodiment. 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 28 is just one example. Any functional classification and name of functional unit is acceptable as long as it can perform the operation according to the embodiment. The transmitting unit 110 and the receiving unit 120 may be collectively referred to as the transmitting and receiving unit.

[0174] The transmitting unit 110 includes the function of generating a signal to be transmitted to the terminal 20 and transmitting the signal wirelessly. The receiving unit 120 includes the function of receiving various signals transmitted from the terminal 20 and obtaining information from higher layers, for example, from the received signals. The transmitting unit 110 also has the function of transmitting various control / data signals such as DL synchronization signals (e.g., PSS, SSS), PBCH, PDCCH, PDSCH, etc. to the terminal 20. The receiving unit 120 also has the function of receiving various control / data signals such as PRACH, PUCCH, PUSCH, etc. from the terminal 20. The receiving unit 120 may also receive inter-network node messages from other network nodes.

[0175] A transceiver unit having a transmitting unit 110 and a receiving unit 120 may communicate with the terminal 20 using a TDD pattern (for example, transmitting / receiving control signals / data signals). The transmitting unit 110 may transmit DL synchronization signals / system information to the terminal 20 at a period that is an integer multiple of the first period.

[0176] The setting unit 130 stores pre-configured setting information and various setting information to be transmitted to the terminal 20.

[0177] The control unit 140 performs control related to various settings, instructions, notifications, identification, decisions, and communication in the embodiment. The signal transmission function unit of the control unit 140 may be included in the transmission unit 110, and the signal reception function unit of the control unit 140 may be included in the reception unit 120. The control unit 140 may also perform at least a part of the control unit processing in the summary of the embodiment (11) described later.

[0178] The control unit 140 may control communication with the terminal 20 based on the hyperframe. The control unit 140 may determine the arrangement of the TDD pattern (for example, the temporal arrangement (timing)) based on the hyperframe. The control unit 140 may stop communication at an offset time provided before or after the TDD pattern within the time of the hyperframe. The control unit 140 may determine the offset time based on information about the offset time provided before or after the TDD pattern. The control unit 140 may control communication with the terminal 20 using a TDD pattern arrangement in which the beginning of one hyperframe coincides with the beginning of one TDD pattern, and one TDD pattern that follows that one TDD pattern crosses the boundary of that one hyperframe.

[0179] (10.2) Terminal Configuration Diagram 29 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the terminal in each embodiment. The 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 29 is just one example. Any functional classification and functional unit name is acceptable as long as it can perform the operations according to the embodiment. The transmitting unit 210 and the receiving unit 220 may be collectively referred to as the transmitting and receiving unit.

[0180] 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 obtains signals from higher layers from the received physical layer signals. The transmitting unit 210 also has the function of transmitting various control / data signals such as PRACH, PUCCH, and PUSCH from the terminal 20. The receiving unit 220 also has the function of receiving various control / data signals such as DL synchronization signals (e.g., PSS, SSS), PBCH, PDCCH, and PDSCH transmitted from the base station 10.

[0181] A transceiver unit having a transmitting unit 210 and a receiving unit 220 may communicate with the base station 10 using a TDD pattern (for example, transmitting / receiving control signals / data signals). The receiving unit 210 may receive DL synchronization signals / system information from the base station 10 at a period that is an integer multiple of the first period.

[0182] 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.

[0183] The control unit 240 performs control related to various settings, instructions, notifications, identification, decisions, and communication in the embodiment. 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. The control unit 240 may also perform at least a part of the control unit processing in the summary of the embodiment (11) described later.

[0184] The control unit 240 may control communication with the base station 10 based on the hyperframe. The control unit 240 may determine the arrangement of TDD patterns (e.g., temporal arrangement (timing)) based on the hyperframe. The control unit 240 may stop communication at an offset time provided before or after the TDD pattern within the time of the hyperframe. The control unit 240 may determine the offset time based on information about the offset time provided before or after the TDD pattern. The control unit 240 may control communication with the base station 10 using a TDD pattern arrangement in which the beginning of one hyperframe coincides with the beginning of one TDD pattern, and one TDD pattern that follows that one TDD pattern crosses the boundary of that one hyperframe.

[0185] (10.3) Hardware Configuration The block diagram above shows 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, wireless, etc.). A functional block may be realized by combining the one device or the multiple devices with software.

[0186] Functions include, but are not limited to, judgment, decision, judgment, 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.

[0187] Figure 30 shows an example of the hardware configuration of a base station and a terminal in each embodiment.

[0188] For example, the base station 10, terminal 20, etc. in the embodiment may function as a computer that processes the wireless communication method of the embodiment. The base station 10 and terminal 20 described above 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.

[0189] 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.

[0190] 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.

[0191] The processor 1001 controls the entire computer, for example, by running an operating system (OS). 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.

[0192] 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 a 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 28 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 29 may be implemented by a control program stored in the storage device 1002 and operated by the processor 1001. Although the above processes have been described 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.

[0193] 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 this disclosure.

[0194] 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.

[0195] 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 FDD and TDD. For example, the transmitting / receiving antenna, amplifier section, transmitting / receiving section, transmission path interface, etc., may be implemented by the communication device 1004. The transmitting / receiving section may be implemented in a physically or logically separated manner, with a transmitting section and a receiving section.

[0196] 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 (Light-Emitting Diode) lamp, etc.). The input device 1005 and the output device 1006 may be configured as an integrated unit (e.g., a touch panel).

[0197] 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.

[0198] 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.

[0199] Figure 31 shows an example of the vehicle configuration in each embodiment.

[0200] As shown in Figure 31, 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 this disclosure may be applied to a communication device mounted on the vehicle 2001, for example, to the communication module 2013.

[0201] 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.

[0202] The electronic control unit 2010 consists of a microprocessor 2031, memory (ROM, RAM) 2032, and communication ports (I / O (Input / Output) 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).

[0203] 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.

[0204] 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.).

[0205] 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 (Global Navigation Satellite System)), 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.

[0206] 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.

[0207] 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.

[0208] The communication module 2013 may transmit at least one of the following to an external device via wireless communication: signals from the various sensors 2021-2029 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 2021-2029, 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 information based on the above input.

[0209] 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.

[0210] (11) Summary of Embodiments For example, embodiments of the present disclosure are as follows: <1> A terminal comprising: a transmitting and receiving unit that communicates using a TDD (Time Division Duplex) pattern having a first period and including a downlink period, a guard period and an uplink period; and a control unit that controls the communication based on a time frame having a second period having a time length that is a non-integer multiple of the first period and is longer than the first period, wherein the control unit identifies the arrangement of the TDD pattern in the time domain with respect to the time frame. <2> The terminal according to <1>, wherein the control unit stops the communication at an offset time provided before or after the TDD pattern in the time domain within the time frame. <3> The terminal according to <1> or <2>, wherein the information of the offset time provided before or after the TDD pattern in the time domain within the time frame is predefined or notified from the network, and the control unit determines the offset time based on the information. <4> The terminal according to any one of <1> to <3>, wherein the control unit controls the communication using a TDD pattern arrangement in which the beginning of one time frame coincides with the beginning of one TDD pattern, and the TDD pattern later than the one TDD pattern crosses the boundary of the time frame. <5> The terminal according to any one of <1> to <4>, wherein the transmitting and receiving unit has a receiving unit that receives at least one of a downlink synchronization signal and system information transmitted from the network at a period that is an integer multiple of the first period. <6> A communication method in which the terminal performs the steps of: performing communication using a TDD (Time Division Duplex) pattern that includes a downlink period, a guard period and an uplink period and has a first period; and controlling the communication based on a time frame that has a time length that is a non-integer multiple of the first period and has a second period that is longer than the first period, wherein in the controlling step, the arrangement of the TDD pattern in the time domain is identified with respect to the time frame.

[0211] Any of the above configurations can appropriately control communication using a TDD pattern with a predetermined period.

[0212] Furthermore, although this embodiment has been described assuming NTN communication using NB-IoT, it is not limited to this. This embodiment is not limited to NTN communication and can be applied to various communications using TDD patterns. Similarly, it is not limited to the use of NB-IoT and can be applied when using a time frame (e.g., a hyperframe) that has a time length that is a non-integer multiple of the period of the TDD pattern and has a period longer than the period of the TDD pattern.

[0213] (12) Supplementary Information on Embodiments The embodiments 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 this disclosure, and the matters described in the above items may be used in combination as necessary, 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 the embodiment and the software operated by the processor of the terminal 20 according to the embodiment 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.

[0214] Furthermore, notification of information is not limited to the embodiments / models described herein and may be performed by 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., 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. Information notified by higher layer signaling may be called configuration information. Information notified by physical layer signaling may be called control information. Also, RRC signaling may be called RRC messages, for example, RRC Connection Setup messages, RRC Connection Reconfiguration messages, etc.

[0215] Each aspect / embodiment described herein may be applied to at least one of systems utilizing LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE-A (LTE-Advanced), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4G (4th generation mobile communication system), 5G (5th generation mobile communication system), Beyond-5G, 6G, FRA (Future Radio Access), NR, W-CDMA®, GSM®, CDMA2000, UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband), IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 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 and 5G).

[0216] The processing procedures, sequences, flowcharts, etc., of each aspect / embodiment described herein may be rearranged in order, provided they are consistent. For example, the methods described herein present various step elements in an exemplary order and are not limited to the specific order presented.

[0217] The specific operations described in this disclosure as being 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 (Mobility Management Entity) or an S-GW (Serving Gateway), etc., 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).

[0218] 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.

[0219] 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.

[0220] 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).

[0221] 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.

[0222] 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.

[0223] 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.

[0224] 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.

[0225] The terms “system” and “network” as used in this disclosure are interchangeable.

[0226] Furthermore, the information, parameters, etc., described in this disclosure may be expressed using absolute values, relative values ​​from a given value, or other corresponding information. For example, wireless resources may be indicated by an index.

[0227] 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.

[0228] 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 (TRP)", "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.

[0229] 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.

[0230] 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.

[0231] In this disclosure, terms such as "Mobile Station (MS)," "user terminal," "User Equipment (UE)," and "terminal" may be used interchangeably.

[0232] 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.

[0233] 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.

[0234] 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.

[0235] 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.

[0236] The terms “determining” and “decision” as used in this disclosure may encompass a wide variety of actions. “Determining” may include, for example, judging, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up, search, inquiry (e.g., searching in tables, databases or other data structures), and ascertaining. “Determining” may also include receiving (e.g., receiving information), transmitting (e.g., sending information), input, output, and accessing (e.g., accessing data in memory). Furthermore, “determining” may include resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, and comparing. In other words, "judgment" and "decision" can include considering that some action has been "judged" or "decided." Also, "judgment (decision)" can be reinterpreted as "assuming," "expecting," or "considering."

[0237] The terms “connected,” “coupled,” and any variations 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 read 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.

[0238] The reference signal can also be abbreviated as RS (Reference Signal), and may be called a pilot depending on the applicable standard.

[0239] 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."

[0240] 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.

[0241] In the configuration of each of the above devices, "means" may be replaced with "part," "circuit," "device," etc.

[0242] 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.

[0243] 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.

[0244] 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.

[0245] A slot may consist of one or more symbols in the time domain (such as OFDM symbols or DC-FDMA (Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access) symbols). A slot may also be a time unit based on neurology.

[0246] 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.

[0247] 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.

[0248] 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.

[0249] Here, TTI refers to, for example, the smallest time unit for scheduling in wireless communication. For example, in an LTE system, a base station schedules each terminal to allocate wireless resources (such as the frequency bandwidth and transmission power available to each terminal) in TTI units. However, the definition of TTI is not limited to this.

[0250] 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.

[0251] 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.

[0252] 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.

[0253] 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.

[0254] 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.

[0255] 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.

[0256] One or more RBs may also be called a Physical RB (PRB), Subcarrier Group (SCG), Resource Element Group (REG), PRB pair, RB pair, etc.

[0257] 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.

[0258] A Bandwidth Part (BWP), also known as a partial bandwidth, may represent a subset of consecutive common RBs (RBs) for a given neurology in a given carrier. Here, the common RBs may be identified by an index of RBs relative to a common reference point of the carrier. PRBs may be defined and numbered within a given BWP.

[0259] 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.

[0260] 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".

[0261] The above-described structures of 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.

[0262] 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.

[0263] 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."

[0264] 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).

[0265] 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.

[0266] 10 Base station 10A Satellite 10B Ground base station 10C gNB 10D Core network (CN) 110 Transmitter 120 Receiver 130 Setting unit 140 Control unit 20 Terminal 210 Transmitter 220 Receiver 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 comprising: a transmitting and receiving unit that performs communication using a TDD (Time Division Duplex) pattern that includes a downlink period, a guard period, and an uplink period, and has a first period; and a control unit that controls the communication based on a time frame having a time length that is a non-integer multiple of the first period and a second period that is longer than the first period, wherein the control unit identifies the arrangement of the TDD pattern in the time domain with respect to the time frame.

2. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the control unit stops the communication within the time frame, during an offset time provided before or after the TDD pattern in the time domain.

3. Information on an offset time provided before or after the TDD pattern in the time domain within the time frame is predefined or notified from the network, and the control unit determines the offset time based on the information, as described in claim 1.

4. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the communication using a TDD pattern arrangement in which the beginning of one time frame coincides with the beginning of one TDD pattern, and the TDD pattern that is later than the one TDD pattern crosses the boundary of the time frame.

5. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting and receiving unit has a receiving unit that receives at least one of a downlink synchronization signal and system information transmitted from the network at a period that is an integer multiple of the first period.

6. A communication method comprising the steps of: performing communication using a Time Division Duplex (TDD) pattern that includes a downlink period, a guard period, and an uplink period, and having a first period; and controlling the communication based on a time frame having a time length that is a non-integer multiple of the first period, and having a second period that is longer than the first period, wherein the terminal performs the steps of: specifying the arrangement of the TDD pattern in the time domain with respect to the time frame in the controlling step.

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