WO2020220229A1

WO2020220229A1 - Harq feedback in sidelink transmission

Info

Publication number: WO2020220229A1
Application number: PCT/CN2019/085068
Authority: WO
Inventors: Gang Wang; Zhaobang MIAO
Original assignee: NEC Corp
Current assignee: NEC Corp
Priority date: 2019-04-29
Filing date: 2019-04-29
Publication date: 2020-11-05
Anticipated expiration: 2021-10-29
Also published as: JP2023175806A; JP7351350B2; JP2022537626A

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to methods, devices and computer readable media for HARQ feedback in a sidelink transmission. A method of communication comprises receiving, at a receiving device in a sidelink transmission, information from a transmitting device in the sidelink transmission; determining a mode of a HARQ feedback for the reception of the information; and determining, from a set of resources for HARQ feedback, resource for transmission of the feedback based on the HARQ feedback mode. The method further comprises receiving the HARQ feedback at the transmitting device. Embodiments of the present disclosure can improve the resource allocation for the HARQ feedback in the sidelink transmission.

Description

HARQ FEEDBACK IN SIDELINK TRANSMISSION

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunication, and in particular, to methods, devices and computer storage media for a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback in a sidelink transmission.

BACKGROUND

Device to device (D2D) /vehicle to everything (V2X) communications are enabled in 5G New Radio (NR) . A sidelink transmission via a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) and a physical sidelink share channel (PSSCH) have been studied to enable communication between terminal devices. In the latest development, a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) is defined to convey sidelink feedback control information (SFCI) for unicast and groupcast. For a HARQ-based sidelink transmission, how to allocate resources to convey a HARQ feedback via the PSFCH is highly concerned.

SUMMARY

In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide methods, devices and computer storage media for a HARQ feedback in a sidelink transmission.

In a first aspect, there is provided a method of communication. The method comprises: receiving, at a receiving device in a sidelink transmission, information from a transmitting device in the sidelink transmission; determining a mode of a HARQ feedback for the reception of the information; and determining, from a set of resources for HARQ feedback, resource for transmission of the feedback based on the HARQ feedback mode.

In a second aspect, there is provided a method of communication. The method comprises: transmitting, at a transmitting device in a sidelink transmission, information to a receiving device in the sidelink transmission; and receiving a HARQ feedback for reception of the information from the receiving device, the HARQ feedback being transmitted on resource determined from a set of resources for the HARQ feedback based on a mode of the HARQ feedback.

In a third aspect, there is provided a receiving device. The receiving device comprises a processor and a memory coupled to the processor. The memory stores instructions that when executed by the processor, cause the receiving device to perform the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.

In a fourth aspect, there is provided a transmitting device. The transmitting device comprises a processor and a memory coupled to the processor. The memory stores instructions that when executed by the processor, cause the transmitting device to perform the method according to the second aspect of the present disclosure.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon. The instructions, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.

In a sixth aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon. The instructions, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method according to the second aspect of the present disclosure.

Other features of the present disclosure will become easily comprehensible through the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Through the more detailed description of some embodiments of the present disclosure in the accompanying drawings, the above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication network in which some embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example method of communication implemented at a receiving device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram showing an example of time-frequency resources for transmission of a HARQ feedback in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example method of determining resource for a HARQ feedback in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example method of determining resource for a HARQ feedback in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example method of determining resource for a HARQ feedback in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates an example method of determining resource for a HARQ feedback in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 illustrates an example method of determining resource for a HARQ feedback in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 illustrates an example method of determining resource for a HARQ feedback in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 illustrates an example method of determining resource for a HARQ feedback in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 illustrates an example method of communication implemented at a transmitting device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 12 is a simplified block diagram of a device that is suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar element.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Principle of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It is to be understood that these embodiments are described only for the purpose of illustration and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitations as to the scope of the disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various manners other than the ones described below.

In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skills in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

As used herein, the term “terminal d evice” refers to any device having wireless or wired communication capabilities. Examples of the terminal device include, but not limited to, a user equipment (UE) , a mobile phone, a computer, a personal digital assistant, a game machine, a wearable device, an on-vehicle communication device, a machine type communication (MTC) device, a device to device (D2D) communication device, a vehicle to everything (V2X) communication device, a sensor and the like. The term “terminal device” can be used interchangeably with a UE, a mobile station, a subscriber station, a mobile terminal, a user terminal or a wireless device. In addition, the term “network device” refers to a device which is capable of providing or hosting a cell or coverage where terminal devices can communicate. Examples of a network device include, but not limited to, a Node B (NodeB or NB) , an Evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB) , a next generation NodeB (gNB) , a Transmission Reception Point (TRP) , a Remote Radio Unit (RRU) , a radio head (RH) , a remote radio head (RRH) , a low power node such as a femto node, a pico node, and the like.

As used herein, the singular forms ‘a’ , ‘an’ and ‘the’ are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The term ‘includes’ and its variants are to be read as open terms that mean ‘includes, but is not limited to. ’ The term ‘based on’ is to be read as ‘at least in part based on. ’ The term ‘one embodiment’ and ‘an embodiment’ are to be read as ‘at least one embodiment. ’ The term ‘another embodiment’ is to be read as ‘at least one other embodiment. ’ The terms ‘first, ’ ‘second, ’ and the like may refer to different or same objects. Other definitions, explicit and implicit, may be included below.

In some examples, values, procedures, or apparatus are referred to as ‘best, ’ ‘lowest, ’ ‘highest, ’ ‘minimum, ’ ‘maximum, ’ or the like. It will be appreciated that such descriptions are intended to indicate that a selection among many used functional alternatives can be made, and such selections need not be better, smaller, higher, or otherwise preferable to other selections.

As described above, for a HARQ-based sidelink transmission, how to allocate resources to convey a HARQ feedback via a PSFCH is highly concerned. Some existing schemes has proposed that PSSCH/PSCCH in multiple slots can be associated with PSFCH in one slot, and then resource for PSFCH is associated with the resource for PSSCH/PSCCH. Some other existing schemes has proposed that frequency-domain resource of PSFCH conveying HARQ-ACK is associated with corresponding PSSCH/PSCCH resource by pre-configuration, and a PSFCH resource pool is preconfigured on specific sub-channels in a PSSCH/PSCCH resource pool. In context of the present application, the sub-channel is a minimum granularity of time-frequency resources used for the information (for example, PSSCH/PSCCH data) transmission. However, these schemes fail to consider such a situation that one PSSCH/PSCCH transmission needs feedback from multiple terminal devices via multiple PSFCH resources, and also fail to consider interferences among PSFCHs in the same physical resource block (PRB) or adjacent PRBs.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for transmission of a HARQ feedback via a PSFCH, so as to solve the above problems and one or more of other potential problems. This solution can determine respective resources for transmission of a HARQ feedback with respect to different HARQ feedback modes, so as to improve PSFCH resource allocation and reduce interference among PSFCHs. Principles and implementations of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the figures.

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example communication system 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system 100 may include

terminal devices

110 and 120 and a network device 130 serving the

terminal devices

110 and 120. It is to be understood that the number of devices in FIG. 1 is given for the purpose of illustration without suggesting any limitations to the present disclosure. The communication network 100 may include any suitable number of synchronization sources and/or terminal devices adapted for implementing implementations of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 1, the network device 130 may communicate with the

terminal devices

110 and 120 via channels (such as, wireless communication channels) 111 and 121, respectively. For example, the network device 130 may transmit a configuration about SFCI to the

terminal devices

110 and 120 via the

channels

111 and 121, respectively. During a sidelink transmission, the

terminal devices

110 and 120, if acting as a receiving device, may transmit a HARQ feedback for PSSCH/PSCCH based on the received configuration.

The

terminal devices

110 and 120 are shown in FIG. 1 as vehicles which enable D2D/V2X communications. It is to be understood that embodiments of the present disclosure are also applicable to other terminal devices than vehicles, such as mobile phones, sensors and so on. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may communicate with the terminal device 120 via a sidelink. For example, the terminal device 110 may transmit information to the terminal device 120 via a PSSCH/PSCCH 141 and receive a HARQ feedback for reception of the information from the terminal 120 via a PSFCH 142.

In the following, some embodiments will be described with reference to the terminal device 110 as an example of a transmitting device (also referred as a source device) and with reference to the terminal device 120 as an example of a receiving device (also referred as a destination device) . For example, the terminal device 110 may also be referred to as the “transmitting device 110” , and the terminal device 120 may also be referred to as the “receiving device 120” . It is to be understood that this is merely for the purpose of discussion, without suggesting any limitations to the scope of the present disclosure.

The communications in the communication system 100 may conform to any suitable standards including, but not limited to, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) , Long Term Evolution (LTE) , LTE-Evolution, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) , Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) , Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) , GSM EDGE Radio Access Network (GERAN) , Machine Type Communication (MTC) and the like. Furthermore, the communications may be performed according to any generation communication protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future. Examples of the communication protocols include, but not limited to, the first generation (1G) , the second generation (2G) , 2.5G, 2.75G, the third generation (3G) , the fourth generation (4G) , 4.5G, the fifth generation (5G) communication protocols.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example method 200 of communication implemented at a receiving device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the method 200 may be performed at a communication device which acts as a receiving device, such as the terminal device 120. For the purpose of discussion, in the following, the method 200 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. It is to be understood that the method 200 may include additional blocks not shown and/or may omit some blocks as shown, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

At block 210, the terminal device 120 receives information from a transmitting device (for example, the terminal device 110) . For example, the terminal device 120 may receive the information via PSCCH/PSSCH 141 in a slot (as shown by 310 in FIG. 3 which will be described later) .

In some embodiments, the information may be transmitted from the transmitting device 110 via at least one of unicast, groupcast, and broadcast. In some embodiments, the information transmitted from the transmitting device 110 may include PSCCH and/or PSSCH data.

At block 220, the terminal device 120 determines a mode of a HARQ feedback for the reception of the information. In context of this application, feedback information is conveyed in a sequence format via PSFCH 142. In some embodiments, the HARQ feedback mode may be selected from a group consisting of: a first mode in which only a negative acknowledge (NACK) for the reception of the information is fed back to the transmitting device; a second mode in which an acknowledge (ACK) for the reception of the information is fed back to the transmitting device in a frequency resource, or a negative acknowledge (NACK) for the reception of the information is fed back to the transmitting device in the frequency resource; or a third mode in which an acknowledge (ACK) for the reception of the information is fed back to the transmitting device in a first frequency resource, or a negative acknowledge (NACK) for the reception of the information is fed back to the transmitting device in a second frequency resource different from the first frequency resource. It should be noted that, the HARQ feedback mode is not limited to the above listed formats, but may include any other suitable formats.

In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may receive an indication of the HARQ feedback mode from the transmitting device (for example, the terminal device 110) . For example, the transmitting device 110 may determine the HARQ feedback mode based on the configuration by the network device 130 about resources for transmission of the feedback, and transmit an indication of the HARQ feedback mode to the terminal device 120, for example, via a PSCCH or PSSCH. In some embodiments, the indication may be represented in one bit, for example, 1 or 0. In alternative embodiments, the indication may be represented in two or more bits. It should be noted that the indication may be represented in any suitable form and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

In an alternative embodiment, the terminal device 120 may receive an indication of the HARQ feedback mode from a network device (for example, the network device 130) serving the receiving device. For example, the HARQ feedback mode may be configured by the network device 130 and informed to the terminal device 120 via the channel 121.

In another alternative embodiment, the terminal device 120 may determine the HARQ feedback mode by itself according to the cast type of the sidelink transmission. In some embodiments, the cast type may be one of unicast, groupcast or broadcast. In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may receive, from the network device 130 in advance, configuration information about the selection of the HARQ feedback mode. For example, the configuration information may include mapping between the HARQ feedback modes (for example, the first to third modes described above) and the cast types of the sidelink transmission (for example, unicast, groupcast and/or broadcast described above) . Upon receiving the information from the terminal device 110, the terminal device 120 may determine the HARQ feedback mode for the information according to the configuration information and the cast type of the sidelink transmission for the information.

At block 230, the terminal device 120 may determine, from a set of resources for the HARQ feedback, resource for transmission of the HARQ feedback based on the HARQ feedback mode. In some embodiments, the set of resources for the HARQ feedback may be configured by the network device 130. More details will be described below with reference to FIG. 3.

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram 300 showing an example of time-frequency resources for transmission of a HARQ feedback in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, for the information (for example, PSCCH/PSSCH data) received via sub-channel#1 in a slot 310, the HARQ feedback for reception of the information may be transmitted via PSFCH in a slot 330 later than the slot 310. The slot 330 is the first slot of PSFCH resources and has a distance from the slot 310 larger than A. The value of A is configured, for example, by the network device 130, or specified. Thereby, the frequency resources associated with the slot 330 are provided as the set of resources for the HARQ feedback. It should be noted that, in addition to the above example, the determination of the set of resources can be implemented by any other suitable form, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, as respective resources for transmission of the feedback are determined with respective to different feedback modes, PSFCH resource allocation is improved. More details about resource determination will be discussed below.

Upon determining the set of resources (for example, the slot 330 in FIG. 3) associated with a specific slot for the HARQ feedback, a PRB (forexample, the PRB 331 in FIG. 3) should be determined from the set of resources for transmission of the HARQ feedback, and correspondingly, a sequence should be determined for indication of the HARQ feedback. In some embodiments, an index of a PRB in the set of resources may be determined. In some embodiments, a cyclic shift may be determined with respect to a base sequence configured for the receiving device.

In embodiments of the present disclosure, the resource such as the index of the PRB and the cyclic shift may be determined based on the HARQ feedback mode and at least one of resource associated with transmission of the information, a cast type of the sidelink transmission, transmission power of the receiving device, the number of devices that can be multiplexed in a single PRB for the HARQ feedback, and a data type of the information. In some embodiments, the resource associated with transmission of the information may at least include sub-channel or PRB associated with transmission of the information. In some embodiments, the cast type of the sidelink transmission may include unicast, groupcast or broadcast. In some embodiments, the data type of the information may include at least one of PSCCH and PSSCH.

More specific embodiments for the resource determination will be described below with reference to the first to third modes respectively. The following description is made with reference to Fig. 1 for convenience.

First Mode (Only Feedback NACK)

In this case, assuming that the PSCCH/PSSCH information is received by the terminal device 120 from the terminal device 110 in slot c, and the index of the determined PRB in slot f is n.

Embodiment 1

In this embodiment, an index n of a PRB for the HARQ feedback is configured or preconfigured. In this case, the resource is determined based on the index.

In some embodiments, n may be configured by the network device 130, for example, in scheduled resource selection mode. In some embodiments, the configuration for n may be forwarded by the terminal device 110 to the terminal device 120. In alternative embodiments, the configuration for n may be directly transmitted by the network device 130 to the terminal device 120. In some embodiments, n may be determined according to pre-configuration by the terminal device 120.

Embodiment 2

In this embodiment, the first mode is determined as the HARQ feedback mode at block 220, and the determination of resource for the HARQ feedback is made with reference to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 illustrates an example method 400 of determining resource for a HARQ feedback in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. It is to be understood that the method 400 may include additional blocks not shown and/or may omit some blocks as shown, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

At block 410, the terminal device 120 may determine an index of a sub-channel associated with the received information, for example the index can be n_PSCCH or n_PSSCH as described below. In context of the present application, the sub-channel is a minimum granularity of time-frequency resources used for the information (for example, PSSCH/PSCCH data) transmission.

At block 420, the terminal device 120 may determine the resource for the HARQ feedback based on a reference starting point configured for the resource and the index of the sub-channel. In some embodiments, the reference starting point may be configured by the network device 130. In some embodiments, the reference starting point may be determined by the terminal device 120 according to pre-configuration. In some embodiments, the reference starting point may be determined by the terminal device 120 itself. In some embodiments, the reference starting point (for example, as shown by 332 in FIG. 3) may be predetermined per carrier, per set of resources, or per groupcast session.

In some embodiments, n may be determined by the following equation:

n=n_2_0+n_PSCCH (1)

or

n=n_2_0+n_PSSCH (2)

where n_2_0 is a reference starting point configured for the resource; n_PSCCH is the sub-channel index of the associated PSCCH within a sub-channel set S, where S is all the sub-channels belonging to PSSCH resources and within a time range [f-a, f-b] , f being the slot number where PSFCH is located and value of a and b being predetermined; n_PSSCH is the lowest sub-channel index of the associated PSSCH within a sub-channel set S, where S is all the sub-channels belonging to PSSCH resources and within a time range [f-a, f-b] , f is the slot number where PSFCH is located, value of a and b are configured or preconfigured.

In some embodiments, in case of the receiving device 120 having more than one associated PSFCH PRB in slot f, the receiving device 120 may transmit PSFCH on only one of the associated PRBs. For example, the receiving device 120 may transmit PSFCH on the PSFCH PRB associated with the latest received PSCCH/PSSCH within range [f-a, f-b] , f is the slot number where PSFCH is located, value of a and b are configured by the network device 130, determined by the terminal device 120 according to pre-configuration or determined by the terminal device 120. It is to be understood that the above examples are merely for the purpose of discussion, without suggesting any limitations to the scope of the present disclosure.

At block 430, the terminal device 120 may determine a sequence for the feedback based on a cyclic shift value being configured or preconfigured. In some embodiments, the cyclic shift value may be configured by the network device 130. In some embodiments, the cyclic shift value may be determined by the terminal device 120 according to pre-configuration. In some embodiments, the cyclic shift value may be configured by the terminal device 110. In some embodiments, the cyclic shift value may be determined by the terminal device 120 itself.

In some embodiments, the cyclic shift of the PSFCH sequence is configured or preconfigured per carrier. In some embodiments, the cyclic shift of the PSFCH sequence is configured or preconfigured per set of resources. In some embodiments, the cyclic shift of the PSFCH sequence is configured or preconfigured per groupcast session. In some embodiments, the cyclic shift of the PSFCH sequence is configured or preconfigured per source device. In some embodiments, the cyclic shift of the PSFCH sequence is configured or preconfigured per destination device.

At block 440, the terminal device 120 may transmit the HARQ feedback to the terminal device 110 using the determined sequence on the frequency resource. It is to be understood that the above examples are merely for the purpose of discussion, without suggesting any limitations to the scope of the present disclosure.

In this embodiment, resource allocation for the HARQ feedback is carried out in consideration with HARQ feedback mode, the resource allocation is improved.

Embodiment 3

In this embodiment, the first mode is determined as the HARQ feedback mode, and the determination of resource for the HARQ feedback is made with reference to FIG. 5. FIG. 5 illustrates an example method 500 of determining resource for a HARQ feedback in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. It is to be understood that the method 500 may include additional blocks not shown and/or may omit some blocks as shown, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

At block 510, the terminal device 120 may determine whether the information is transmitted via a groupcast session. If the information is transmitted via a groupcast session, at block 520, the terminal device 120 may determine an index of the groupcast session associated with the information. In some embodiments, the index of the groupcast session may be configured by the network device (e.g., the network device 130) serving the destination device (e.g., the terminal device 120) . In some embodiments, the index of the groupcast session may be determined by the source device (e.g., the terminal device 110) .

At block 530, the terminal device 120 may determine the resource for the HARQ feedback based on a reference starting point configured for the resource and the index of the groupcast session. In some embodiments, the reference starting point may be configured by the network device 130. In some embodiments, the reference starting point may be determined by the terminal device 120 according to pre-configuration. In some embodiments, the reference starting point may be determined by the terminal device 120 itself. In some embodiments, the reference starting point (for example, as shown by 332 in FIG. 3) may be predetermined per carrier, per set of resources, or per groupcast session.

In some embodiments, n may be determined by the following equation:

n=n_3_0+n_Gsession (3)

where n_3_0 is a reference starting point configured for the resource; n_Gsession is the index of the groupcast session.

In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may select the resource from a subset of the set of resources that can be shared by multiple terminal devices to feedback only NACK. In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may select the resource so that the PRB used for the first mode is not overlapped with PRBs used for other HARQ modes. In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may only transmit PSFCH in R resource elements (REs) located in the center of the PRB, where R＜12, and the transmission on the 12-R REs are punctured in this way, in-band emission (IBE) interference to adjacent PRBs would be reduced.

In this embodiment, the terminal device 120 may determine a sequence for the feedback based on a cyclic shift value being configured or preconfigured. The processing is similar with that described with reference to block 430 in FIG. 4, and thus is not repeated here.

In this embodiment, resource allocation for the HARQ feedback is carried out in consideration with groupcast, IBE interference among PSFCHs transmitted in adjacent PRBs can be reduced and the resource allocation is improved.

Second Mode (Feedback ACK and NACK in Same Frequency Resource)

In this case, assuming that the PSCCH/PSSCH information is received by the terminal device 120 from the terminal device 110 in slot c, and the index of the determined PRB in slot fis m.

Embodiment 4

In this embodiment, an index m of a PRB for the HARQ feedback is configured or preconfigured. In this case, the resource is determined based on the index. The determination of m in this embodiment is similar with that of n in Embodiment 1 except that their values may be configured differently. The determination of the cyclic shift of the PSFCH sequence for the ACK and NACK feedback is also similar with that in Embodiment 1 except that their values may be configured differently. In some embodiments, their values may be configured as being same with that in first mode. Other details are not repeated here for concise.

Embodiment 5

In this embodiment, the second mode is determined as the HARQ feedback mode, the determination of resource for the HARQ feedback is similar with Embodiment 2 described with reference to FIG. 4, except that the value of the reference starting point may be configured differently from that in Embodiment 2. In some embodiments, the value of the reference starting point in second mode may be configured as being same with that in first mode. Other details are not repeated here for concise.

The determination of the cyclic shift of the PSFCH sequence for the ACK and NACK feedback is also similar with that in Embodiment 2 except that their values may be configured differently. In some embodiments, their values may be configured as being same with that in first mode. Other details are not repeated here for concise.

In addition, in some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may select the resource from a subset of the set of resources that can be used by dedicated terminal device to transmit NACK or ACK using different sequences. In this way, intra-PRB interference among different PSFCHs and in-band emission (IBE) interference to adjacent PRBs would be reduced.

Embodiment 6

In this embodiment, the second mode is determined as the HARQ feedback mode, and the number of devices that can be multiplexed in a single PRB for HARQ feedback is configured or preconfigured. In this case, the determination of resource for the HARQ feedback is made with reference to FIG. 6. FIG. 6 illustrates an example method 600 of determining resource for a HARQ feedback in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. It is to be understood that the method 600 may include additional blocks not shown and/or may omit some blocks as shown, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

At block 610, the terminal device 120 may determine an index of a sub-channel associated with the received information, for example the index can be m_PSCCH or m_PSSCH as described below. In context of the present application, the sub-channel is a minimum granularity of time-frequency resources used for the information (for example, PSSCH/PSCCH data) transmission.

At block 620, the terminal device 120 may determine the resource for the HARQ feedback based on a configured or pre-configured reference starting point, the number of devices that can be multiplexed in a single PRB for HARQ feedback, and the index of the sub-channel. In some embodiments, the reference starting point may be configured by the network device 130. In some embodiments, the reference starting point may be determined by the terminal device 120 according to pre-configuration. In some embodiments, the reference starting point may be determined by the terminal device 120 itself. In some embodiments, the reference starting point (for example, as shown by 332 in FIG. 3) may be predetermined per carrier, per set of resources, or per groupcast session.

In some embodiments, the number of devices that can be multiplexed in a single PRB for HARQ feedback is maximum devices that can be multiplexed in a single PRB for HARQ feedback. In some embodiments, the number of devices may be configured by the network device 130. In some embodiments, the number of devices may be determined by the terminal device 120 according to pre-configuration. In some embodiments, the number of devices may be determined by the terminal device 120 itself. In some embodiments, the number of devices may be predetermined per carrier, per set of resources, or per groupcast session. For example, the number of devices can be predetermined to be 2 or 6 per set of resources. It should be noted that it is only an example for illustration, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

In some embodiments, m may be determined by the following equation:

m=m_3_0 + floor (m_PSCCH/M3) (4)

or

m=m_3_0 + floor (m_PSSCH/M3) (5)

where m_3_0 is a configured or pre-configured reference starting point; m_PSCCH is the sub-channel index of the associated PSCCH within a sub-channel set S, where S is all the sub-channels belonging to PSSCH resources and within a time range [f-a, f-b] , f being the slot number where PSFCH is located and value of a and b being configured or specified; m_PSSCH is the lowest sub-channel index of the associated PSSCH within a sub-channel set S, where S is all the sub-channels belonging to PSSCH resources and within a time range [f-a, f-b] , f is the slot number where PSFCH is located, value of a and b are configured or specified; M3 is the number of terminal devices that can be multiplexing in one PRB.

In this embodiment, the terminal device 120 may select the resource from a subset of the set of resources that can be shared by multiple terminal devices to transmit NACK or ACK using different sequences. In this way, intra-PRB interference among PSFCHs and in-band emission (IBE) interference to adjacent PRBs would be reduced.

At block 630, the terminal device 120 may determine a first sequence for one of ACK and NACK in the HARQ feedback based on the index of the receiving device and the number of devices that can be multiplexing in a single PRB for HARQ feedback. In some embodiments, the cyclic shift of the PSFCH sequence for the ACK and NACK feedback may be a function of m_PSCCH or m_PSSCH. For example, the cyclic shift for ACK may be equal to mod (x6*mod (m_PSCCH, M3) +y6, 12) , where value of x6 and y6 can be configured, pre-configured or specified, and x6 can be 1, y6 can be 0. It should be noted that it is only an example for illustration, the cyclic shift for ACK or NACK can be determined in any other suitable functions of m_PSCCH or m_PSSCH.

At block 640, the terminal device 120 may determine a second sequence for the other of ACK and NACK in the feedback based on the first sequence and a predetermined value. In some embodiments, the predetermined value may be determined by the device according to pre-configuration. In some embodiments, the predetermined value may be determined by the terminal device 120. Corresponding to the above example, cyclic shift for NACK may be equal to mod (x6*mod (m_PSCCH, M3) +y6+6, 12) . It should be noted that it is only an example for illustration, the predetermined value may be any other suitable integer.

At block 650, the terminal device 120 may transmit the HARQ feedback to the transmitting device using the first or second sequence on the resource. Thereby, resource allocation for the HARQ feedback is carried out in consideration with the number of devices that can be multiplexed in a single PRB for HARQ feedback, interference among PSFCHs in the same PRB can be reduced and the resource allocation is improved.

Embodiment 7

In this embodiment, the second mode is determined as the HARQ feedback mode, and the transmission power of the receiving device is considered. In this case, the determination of resource for the HARQ feedback is made with reference to FIG. 7. FIG. 7 illustrates an example method 700 of determining resource for a HARQ feedback in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. It is to be understood that the method 700 may include additional blocks not shown and/or may omit some blocks as shown, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

At block 710, the terminal device 120 may determine whether the transmission power of the receiving device (e.g., terminal device 120) is in a first range or a second range different from the first range. If the terminal device 120 determines that the transmission power of the terminal device 120 is in the first range, at block 720, the terminal device 120 may determine the resource based on a first value configured for an index of a physical resource block (PRB) for the HARQ feedback. If the terminal device 120 determines that the transmission power of the terminal device 120 is in the second range, at block 730, the terminal device 120 may determine the resource based on a second value different from the first value configured for the index of the PRB for the HARQ feedback.

In some embodiments, the first and second values may be configured by the network device 130. In some embodiments, the first and second values may be determined by the terminal device 120 according to pre-configuration. It should be noted that the division of the first and second ranges is merely example for illustration, the division of third or more ranges for the transmission power of the receiving device and the corresponding setting for third or more values are also fall into the scope of the present application.

In some embodiments, in case of the receiving device 120 having more than one associated PSFCH PRB in slot f, the receiving device 120 may transmit PSFCH on only one of the associated PRBs. For example, the receiving device 120 may transmit PSFCH on the PSFCH PRB associated with the latest received PSCCH/PSSCH within range [f-a, f-b] , f is the slot number where PSFCH is located, value of a and b are configured by the network device 130, preconfigured by a device manufacturer or determined by the terminal device 120.

In this embodiment, the determination of sequence for the HARQ feedback is similar with that described with reference to block 430 in FIG. 4, and thus its details are not repeated here. Thereby, resource allocation for the HARQ feedback is carried out in consideration with transmission power of the receiving device, IBE interference among PSFCHs transmitted in adjacent PRBs can be reduced and the resource allocation is improved.

Embodiment 8

In this embodiment, the second mode is determined as the HARQ feedback mode, the number of devices that can be multiplexed in a single PRB for HARQ feedback is configured or preconfigured, and transmission power of the receiving device is considered. In this case, the determination of resource for the HARQ feedback is made with reference to FIG. 8. FIG. 8 illustrates an example method 800 of determining resource for a HARQ feedback in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. It is to be understood that the method 800 may include additional blocks not shown and/or may omit some blocks as shown, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

At block 810, the terminal device 120 may determine whether the transmission power of the receiving device (e.g., terminal device 120) is in a first range or a second range different from the first range. If the terminal device 120 determines that the transmission power of the terminal device 120 is in the first range, at block 820, the terminal device 120 may determine the index of the sub-channel associated with the information. At block 830, the terminal device 120 may determine the resource based on a first reference starting point configured for the resource, the index, and the number of devices that can be multiplexing in a single PRB for HARQ feedback.

In some embodiments, m may be determined according to the following equation:

m=m_6_0 + floor (m_PSCCH/M6) (6)

or

m=m_6_0 + floor (m_PSSCH/M6) (7)

where m_6_0 is the first reference starting point configured for the resource; m_PSCCH is the sub-channel index of the associated PSCCH within a sub-channel set S, where S is all the sub-channels belonging to PSSCH resources and within a time range [f-a, f-b] , f being the slot number where PSFCH is located and value of a and b being configured or specified; m_PSSCH is the lowest sub-channel index of the associated PSSCH within a sub-channel set S, where S is all the sub-channels belonging to PSSCH resources and within a time range [f-a, f-b] , f is the slot number where PSFCH is located, value of a and b are configured or specified; M3 is the number of terminal devices that can be multiplexing in one PRB.

If the terminal device 120 determines that the transmission power of the terminal device 120 is in the second range, at block 840, the terminal device 120 may determine the index of the sub-channel associated with the received information, for example the index can be m_PSCCH or m_PSSCH as described below. The processing of block 840 is similar with that of block 820. At block 850, the terminal device 120 may determine the resource based on a second reference starting point different from the first starting point configured for the resource, the index, and the number of devices that can be multiplexing in a single PRB for HARQ feedback.

In some embodiments, m may be determined according to the following equation:

m=m_6_1 + floor (m_PSCCH/M6) (8)

or

m=m_6_1 + floor (m_PSSCH/M6) (9)

where m_6_1 is the second reference starting point configured for the resource; m_PSCCH is the sub-channel index of the associated PSCCH within a sub-channel set S, where S is all the sub-channels belonging to PSSCH resources and within a time range [f-a, f-b] , f being the slot number where PSFCH is located and value of a and b being configured or specified; m_PSSCH is the lowest sub-channel index of the associated PSSCH within a sub-channel set S, where S is all the sub-channels belonging to PSSCH resources and within a time range [f-a, f-b] , f is the slot number where PSFCH is located, value of a and b are configured or specified; M6 is the number of terminal devices that can be multiplexing in one PRB.

In some embodiments, the first and second reference starting points may be configured by the network device 130 in association with the first and second ranges respectively. In some embodiments, the first and second reference staring points may be determined by the terminal device 120 according to pre-configuration. It should be noted that the division of the first and second ranges is merely example for illustration, the division of third or more ranges for the transmission power of the receiving device and the corresponding setting for third or more reference starting points are also fall into the scope of the present application.

Other details about the determination of the index of the sub-channel and that of the first and second reference starting points are similar with that described with reference to FIG. 6 for example, and thus are not repeated here.

In this embodiment, the terminal device 120 may select the resource from a subset of the set of resources that can be shared by multiple terminal devices to transmit NACK or ACK using different sequences. In this way, IBE interference to adjacent PRBs would be reduced.

In this embodiment, the determination of the sequence for the HARQ feedback is similar with that described with reference to

blocks

630 and 640 in FIG. 6. In some embodiments, the cyclic shift of the PSFCH sequence for the ACK and NACK feedback may be a function of m_PSCCH or m_PSSCH. For example, the cyclic shift for ACK may be equal to mod (m_PSCCH, M6) and the cyclic shift for NACK may be equal to mod(m_PSCCH, M6) +6. Other details are not repeated here.

Thereby, resource allocation for the HARQ feedback is carried out in consideration with the number of devices that can be multiplexed in one PRB for the HARQ feedback and the transmission power of the receiving device, interference among PSFCHs transmitted in adjacent PRBs and that in the same PRB both can be reduced and the resource allocation is further improved.

Embodiment 9

In this embodiment, the second mode is determined as the HARQ feedback mode, and the information is transmitted via a groupcast session. In this case, the determination of resource for the HARQ feedback is made with reference to FIG. 9. FIG. 9 illustrates an example method 900 of determining resource for a HARQ feedback in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. It is to be understood that the method 900 may include additional blocks not shown and/or may omit some blocks as shown, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

At block 910, the terminal device 120 may determine whether the information is transmitted via a groupcast session. If the information is transmitted via a groupcast session, at block 920, the terminal device 120 may determine an index of the groupcast session associated with the information.

At block 930, the terminal device 120 may determine the resource for the HARQ feedback based on a reference starting point configured for the resource, the index of the groupcast session and a predetermined value. In some embodiments, the predetermined value may be configured by (e.g., the network device 130) serving the destination device (e.g., the terminal device 120) . In some embodiments, the predetermined value may be determined by the source device (e.g., the terminal device 110) . For example, the predetermined value may be 1. Alternatively, the predetermined value may be 0. It should be note that it is merely an example for discussion, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

In some embodiments, m may be determined by the following equation:

m=m_4_0+m_Gsession+delta (10)

where m_4_0 is the reference starting point, m_4_0 can be equal to n_3_0; n_Gsession is the index of the groupcast session; delta is the predetermined value. It should be note that it is merely an example for discussion, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

Other details about the determination of the index of the groupcast session and that of the reference starting point are similar with that described with reference to FIG. 5 for example, and thus are not repeated here.

In this embodiment, the terminal device 120 may determine a sequence for the feedback based on a cyclic shift value being configured or preconfigured. The determination of sequence for the HARQ feedback is similar with that described with reference to block 430 in FIG. 4, and thus its details are not repeated here.

Thereby, resource allocation for the HARQ feedback is carried out in consideration with groupcast, IBE interference among PSFCHs transmitted in adjacent PRBs can be reduced and the resource allocation is improved.

Embodiment 10

In this embodiment, the second mode is determined as the HARQ feedback mode, the information is transmitted via a groupcast session and the number of devices that can be multiplexed in a single PRB for the HARQ feedback is configured or preconfigured. In this case, the determination of resource for the HARQ feedback is made with reference to FIG. 10. FIG. 10 illustrates an example method 1000 of determining resource for a HARQ feedback in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. It is to be understood that the method 1000 may include additional blocks not shown and/or may omit some blocks as shown, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

At block 1010, the terminal device 120 may determine an index of the groupcast session associated with the information. The determination of the index of the groupcast session is similar with that described with reference to block 520 in FIG. 5.

At block 1020, the terminal device 120 may determine an index of the receiving device (e.g., the terminal device 120) in the groupcast session. In some embodiments, the index of the receiving device may be configured by the network device (e.g., the network device 130) serving the destination device (e.g., the terminal device 120) . In some embodiments, the index of the receiving device may be determined by the source device (e.g., the terminal device 110) .

At block 1030, the terminal device 120 may determine the resource based on a reference starting point configured for the resource, the index of the groupcast session, the index of the receiving device, the number of devices that can be multiplexing in a single PRB for HARQ feedback, and a first predetermined value. The determination of the reference starting point and the number of devices is similar with that described with reference to block 620 in FIG. 6. The determination of the first predetermined value is similar with that of the predetermined value described with reference to block 930 in FIG. 9.

In some embodiments, m may be determined by the following equation:

m=m_7_0+m_Gsession+delta+d_UE (11)

where m_7_0 is the reference starting point, m_7_0 can be equal to n_3_0; n_Gsession is the index of the groupcast session; delta is a predetermined value; d_UE=floor (i_UE/M7) , where i_UE is the index of the receiving device within the groupcast session; M7 is the number of devices that can be multiplexing in one PRB for the HARQ feedback. It should be note that it is merely an example for discussion, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

At block 1040, the terminal device 120 may determine a first sequence for one of ACK and NACK in the HARQ feedback based on the index of the receiving device and the number of devices that can be multiplexing in a single PRB for HARQ feedback. In some embodiments, the cyclic shift of the PSFCH sequence for the ACK and NACK feedback may be a function of i_UE and M7. For example, the cyclic shift for ACK may be equal to mod (x10*mod (i_UE, M7) +y10, 12) , where value of x10 and y10 can be configured, pre-configured or specified, , and x10 can be 1, y10 can be 0. It should be noted that it is only an example for illustration, the cyclic shift for ACK or NACK can be determined in any other suitable functions of i_UE and M7.

At block 1050, the terminal device 120 may determine a second sequence for the other of ACK and NACK in the feedback based on the first sequence and a second predetermined value. In some embodiments, the second predetermined value may be determined by the terminal device 120 according to pre-configuration. In some embodiments, the second predetermined value may be determined by the terminal device 120. Corresponding to the above example, cyclic shift for NACK may be equal to mod (x10*mod (i_UE, M7) +y10+6, 12) . It should be noted that it is only an example for illustration, the second predetermined value may be any other suitable integer.

At block 1060, the terminal device 120 may transmit the HARQ feedback to the transmitting device using the first or second sequence on the resource. Thereby, resource allocation for the HARQ feedback is carried out in consideration with groupcast and the number of devices that can be multiplexing in one PRB for the HARQ feedback, IBE interference among PSFCHs transmitted in adjacent PRBs and that in the same PRB both can be reduced and the resource allocation is further improved.

Embodiment 11

In this embodiment, the second mode is determined as the HARQ feedback mode, the information is transmitted via a groupcast session and an index m of a PRB for the feedback is configured or preconfigured. In this embodiment, the terminal device 120 may determine a sequence for the HARQ feedback based on an index of the receiving device in the groupcast session, and transmit the HARQ feedback to the terminal device 110 using the sequence on resource corresponding to the index of the PRB for the HARQ feedback.

In some embodiments, the cyclic shift of the PSFCH resource for the ACK and NACK feedback may be function of an index i_UE of the receiving device in the groupcast session.

In some embodiments, in case of the receiving device 120 having more than one associated PSFCH PRB in slot f, the receiving device 120 may transmit PSFCH on only one of the associated PRBs. For example, the receiving device 120 may transmit PSFCH on the PSFCH PRB associated with the latest received PSCCH/PSSCH within range [f-a, f-b] , f is the slot number where PSFCH is located, value of a and b are configured by the network device 130, preconfigured by a device manufacturer or determined by the terminal device 120. It is to be understood that the above examples are merely for the purpose of discussion, without suggesting any limitations to the scope of the present disclosure.

Embodiment 12

In this embodiment, the second mode is determined as the HARQ feedback mode, and the information is transmitted via a groupcast session. In this embodiment, the terminal device 120 may determine an index of a sub-channel associated with the received information, for example the index can be m_PSCCH or m_PSSCH as described below, and determine the resource based on a reference starting point configured for the resource and the index of the sub-channel. The processing is similar with that described with reference to block 420 in FIG. 4.

In some embodiments, m may be determined by the following equation:

m=m_9_0+m_PSCCH (12)

or

m=m_9_0+m_PSSCH (13)

where m_9_0 is a reference starting point configured for the resource; m_PSCCH is the sub-channel index of the associated PSCCH within a sub-channel set S, where S is all the sub-channels belonging to PSSCH resources and within a time range [f-a, f-b] , f being the slot number where PSFCH is located and value of a and b being predetermined; m_PSSCH is the lowest sub-channel index of the associated PSSCH within a sub-channel set S, where S is all the sub-channels belonging to PSSCH resources and within a time range [f-a, f-b] , f is the slot number where PSFCH is located, value of a and b are configured or preconfigured.

In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may select the resource from a subset of the set of resources that can be used by dedicated terminal device to transmit NACK or ACK using different sequences. In this way, in-band emission (IBE) interference to adjacent PRBs would be reduced.

In this embodiment, the terminal device 120 may determine a sequence for the HARQ feedback based on an index of the receiving device in the groupcast session, and transmit the HARQ feedback to the transmitting device using the sequence on resource corresponding to the index of the PRB for the HARQ feedback. In some embodiments, the cyclic shift of the PSFCH resource for the ACK and NACK feedback may be function of an index i_UE of the receiving device in the groupcast session. This point is similar with that in Embodiment 11.

Third Mode (Feedback ACK and NACK in different Frequency Resources)

In this case, assuming that the PSCCH/PSSCH information is received by the terminal device 120 from the terminal device 110 in slot c, and the index of the determined PRB in slot f is r.

In this mode, the terminal device 120 may determine a first frequency resource for transmission of an ACK in the feedback and determine a second frequency resource for transmission of a NACK in the feedback. Assuming that the second frequency resource for NACK is determined according to the first mode as described above, further embodiments will be discussed below with respect to the determination of resource for ACK feedback. It should be note that it is merely an example for discussion, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

Embodiment 13

In this embodiment, the third mode is determined as the HARQ feedback mode, the information is transmitted via a groupcast session and the number of devices that can be multiplexed in a single PRB for the HARQ feedback is configured or preconfigured.

In this embodiment, the terminal device 120 may determine an index of the groupcast session associated with the information, determine an index of the receiving device in the groupcast session, and determine the first frequency resource based on a reference starting point configured for the resource, the index of the groupcast session, the index of the receiving device, the number of devices that can be multiplexed in a single physical resource block for HARQ feedback, and a first predetermined value. The processing is similar with that described with reference to blocks 1010-1030 in FIG. 10.

In some embodiments, r may be determined by the following equation:

r=r_1_0+m_Gsession+delta+d_UE (14)

wherein r_1_0 is the reference starting point, r_1_0 can be equal to n_3_0; m_Gsession is the index of the groupcast session; delta is the first predetermined value; d_UE=floor (i_UE/R1) , where i_UE is the index of the receiving device within the groupcast session; R1 is the number of devices that can be multiplexing in one PRB for the ACK feedback. It should be note that it is merely an example for discussion, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

In this embodiment, the terminal device 120 may determine a sequence for the ACK in the feedback based on the index of the receiving device and the number of devices that can be multiplexed in a single PRB for HARQ feedback, and transmit the ACK to the transmitting device using the sequence on the first frequency resource. In some embodiments, the cyclic shift of the PSFCH sequence for the ACK feedback may be a function of i_UE and R1. For example, the cyclic shift for ACK may be equal to mod (x13*mod (i_UE, R1) +y13, 12) , where value of x13 and y13 can be configured, pre-configured or specified, and x13 can be 1, y13 can be 0. It should be noted that it is only an example for illustration, the cyclic shift for ACK can be determined in any other suitable functions of i_UE and R1.

Thereby, resource allocation for the HARQ feedback is carried out in consideration with the HARQ feedback mode, groupcast and the number of devices that can be multiplexing in one PRB for the HARQ feedback, IBE interference among PSFCHs transmitted in adjacent PRBs and that in the same PRB both can be reduced and the resource allocation is further improved.

Embodiment 14

In this embodiment, the third mode is determined as the HARQ feedback mode, and the information is transmitted via a groupcast session. In this case, the determination of resource for the ACK feedback is similar with that described with reference to FIG. 9.

In this embodiment, the terminal device 120 may determine an index of the groupcast session associated with the information, and determine the first frequency resource for the ACK feedback based on a reference starting point configured for the resource, the index of the groupcast session and a first predetermined value. In some embodiments, the predetermined value may be configured by (e.g., the network device 130) serving the destination device (e.g., the terminal device 120) . In some embodiments, the predetermined value may be determined by the source device (e.g., the terminal device 110) . For example, the predetermined value may be 1. Alternatively, the predetermined value may be 0. It should be note that it is merely an example for discussion, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

In some embodiments, m may be determined by the following equation:

r=r_2_0+m_Gsession+delta (15)

where r_2_0 is the reference starting point, r_2_0 can be equal to n_3_0; m_Gsession is the index of the groupcast session; delta is the predetermined value. It should be note that it is merely an example for discussion, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

Other details about the determination of the index of the groupcast session and that of the reference starting point and the predetermined value are similar with that described with reference to FIG. 9 for example, and thus are not repeated here.

In this embodiment, the terminal device 120 may determine a sequence for the ACK feedback based on a cyclic shift value being configured or preconfigured. The determination of sequence for the ACK feedback is similar with that described with reference to block 430 in FIG. 4, and thus its details are not repeated here.

Embodiment 15

In this embodiment, the third mode is determined as the HARQ feedback mode, the information is transmitted via a groupcast session and an index r of a PRB for the feedback is configured or preconfigured. In this embodiment, the terminal device 120 may determine a sequence for the ACK feedback based on an index of the receiving device in the groupcast session, and transmit the ACK feedback to the terminal device 110 using the sequence on resource corresponding to the index of the PRB for the HARQ feedback.

In some embodiments, the cyclic shift of the PSFCH resource for the ACK feedback may be function of an index i_UE of the receiving device in the groupcast session.

Embodiment 16

In this embodiment, the third mode is determined as the HARQ feedback mode, and the information is transmitted via a groupcast session. In this embodiment, the terminal device 120 may determine an index of a sub-channel associated with the received information, for example the index can be r_PSCCH or r_PSSCH as described below, and determine the first frequency resource based on a reference starting point configured for the resource and the index of the sub-channel. The processing is similar with that described with reference to block 420 in FIG. 4.

In some embodiments, r may be determined by the following equation:

r=r_4_0+r_PSCCH (16)

or

r=r_4_0+r_PSSCH (17)

where r_4_0 is a reference starting point configured for the resource; r_PSCCH is the sub-channel index of the associated PSCCH within a sub-channel set S, where S is all the sub-channels belonging to PSSCH resources and within a time range [f-a, f-b] , fbeing the slot number where PSFCH is located and value of a and b being predetermined; r_PSSCH is the lowest sub-channel index of the associated PSSCH within a sub-channel set S, where S is all the sub-channels belonging to PSSCH resources and within a time range [f-a, f-b] , f is the slot number where PSFCH is located, value of a and b are configured or preconfigured.

In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may select the resource from a subset of the set of resources that can be shared by multiple terminal devices to transmit NACK or ACK using different sequences. In this way, in-band emission (IBE) interference to adjacent PRBs would be reduced.

In this embodiment, the terminal device 120 may determine a sequence for the ACK feedback based on an index of the receiving device in the groupcast session, and transmit the ACK feedback to the transmitting device using the sequence on resource corresponding to the index of the PRB for the HARQ feedback. In some embodiments, the cyclic shift of the PSFCH resource for the ACK feedback may be function of an index i_UE of the receiving device in the groupcast session. This point is similar with that in Embodiment 11.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, if the receiving device needs to feedback HARQ to more than one transmitting devices in a given slot, and the receiving device has no capability to feedback all of them, the receiving device may prioritize one of them. In some embodiments, the prioritized one can be the one with highest quality of service (QoS) requirement. In some embodiments, the prioritized one can be the one with highest priority. Thereby, the transmission performance can be further improved.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, in a slot where both PSFCH resources for the first mode and that for the second or third mode are configured, the reference starting point of PSFCH frequency resource for the first mode may be separately configured or preconfigured. In some embodiments, a common reference starting point may be configured or preconfigured for those feedback modes, but the offset with respect to the common reference starting point for respective feedback mode is separately configured or preconfigured.

It can be seen that by considering at least one of the HARQ feedback mode, resource associated with transmission of the information, a cast type of the sidelink transmission, transmission power of the receiving device, the number of devices that can be multiplexed in a single PRB for the HARQ feedback, and a data type of the information, interference among PSFCHs in the same PRB or in adjacent PRBs is reduced and the resource allocation for the HARQ feedback in sidelink transmission is improved.

Correspondingly, the embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a method of communication implemented at the transmitting device. FIG. 11 illustrates an example method 1100 of communication implemented at a transmitting device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the method 1100 may be performed at a communication device which acts as a transmitting device, such as the terminal device 110. For the purpose of discussion, in the following, the method 1100 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. It is to be understood that the method 1100 may include additional blocks not shown and/or may omit some blocks as shown, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

At block 1110, the terminal device 110 may transmit information to a receiving device (e.g., the terminal device 120) . In some embodiments, the information includes PSCCH and/PSSCH data. In some embodiments, the information may be transmitted from the transmitting device 110 via at least one of unicast, groupcast, and broadcast. For example, the terminal device 110 may transmit the information via PSCCH/PSSCH 141 in the slot 310 as shown in FIG. 3.

At block 1120, the terminal device 110 may receive a HARQ feedback for reception of the information from the receiving device (e.g., the terminal device 120) , the HARQ feedback being transmitted on resource determined from a set of resources for the HARQ feedback based on a mode of the HARQ feedback.

In some embodiments, feedback information is conveyed in a sequence format via PSFCH 142. In some embodiments, the HARQ feedback mode may be selected from a group consisting of: a first mode in which only a NACK for the reception of the information is fed back to the transmitting device; a second mode in which an acknowledge (ACK) for the reception of the information is fed back to the transmitting device in a frequency resource, or a negative acknowledge (NACK) for the reception of the information is fed back to the transmitting device in the frequency resource; or a third mode in which an acknowledge (ACK) for the reception of the information is fed back to the transmitting device in a first frequency resource, or a negative acknowledge (NACK) for the reception of the information is fed back to the transmitting device in a second frequency resource different from the first frequency resource. It should be noted that, the HARQ feedback mode is not limited to the above listed formats, but may include any other suitable formats.

In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine the HARQ feedback mode, and transmit an indication of the HARQ feedback mode to the terminal device 120. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may obtain the set of resources from a network device serving the transmitting device. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may divide the resources for the HARQ feedback into three types.

Type 1 resources are shared by multiple terminal devices to feedback only NACK. Type 2 resources are shared by multiple terminal devices to transmit ACK or NACK using different sequences. Type 3 resources are used by a dedicated terminal device to transmit ACK or NACK using different sequences.

In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine the number of resources in the set of resources available to transmit an ACK and a NACK in the feedback using different sequences (i.e. Type 2 or 3 resources) , and determine the HARQ feedback mode as the first mode if the determined number of resources is zero. In some embodiments, if the determined number of resources is larger than zero, the HARQ feedback mode can be determined as any of the first to third modes.

In some embodiments, if a receiving device is configured with an index within a groupcast session, the terminal device 110 may determine the HARQ feedback mode for the terminal device 120 to be the second or third mode. In some embodiments, if a receiving device is not configured with an index within a groupcast session, the terminal device 110 may determine the HARQ feedback mode for the terminal device 120 to be the first mode.

It can be seen that in determining the HARQ feedback mode, the type of PSFCH frequency resource is considered. In this way, an improvement of the resource allocation for HARQ feedback is facilitated.

FIG. 12 is a simplified block diagram of a device 1200 that is suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 1200 can be considered as a further example implementation of the

terminal device

110 or 120 as shown in FIG. 1. Accordingly, the device 1200 can be implemented at or as at least a part of the

terminal device

110 or 120.

As shown, the device 1200 includes a processor 1210, a memory 1220 coupled to the processor 1210, a suitable transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX) 1240 coupled to the processor 1210, and a communication interface coupled to the TX/RX 1240. The memory 1210 stores at least a part of a program 1230. The TX/RX 1240 is for bidirectional communications. The TX/RX 1240 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication, though in practice an Access Node mentioned in this application may have several ones. The communication interface may represent any interface that is necessary for communication with other network elements, such as X2 interface for bidirectional communications between eNBs, S1 interface for communication between a Mobility Management Entity (MME) /Serving Gateway (S-GW) and the eNB, Un interface for communication between the eNB and a relay node (RN) , or Uu interface for communication between the eNB and a terminal device.

The program 1230 is assumed to include program instructions that, when executed by the associated processor 1210, enable the device 1200 to operate in accordance with the embodiments of the present disclosure, as discussed herein with reference to FIGs. 1 to 11. The embodiments herein may be implemented by computer software executable by the processor 1210 of the device 1200, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The processor 1210 may be configured to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure. Furthermore, a combination of the processor 1210 and memory 1220 may form processing means 1250 adapted to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure.

The memory 1220 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, semiconductor based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory, as non-limiting examples. While only one memory 1220 is shown in the device 1200, there may be several physically distinct memory modules in the device 1200. The processor 1210 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network, and may include one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The device 1200 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock which synchronizes the main processor.

Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. While various aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other pictorial representation, it will be appreciated that the blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, being executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor, to carry out the process or method as described above with reference to FIGs. 2 to 11. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, or the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired in various embodiments. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

Program code for carrying out methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes may be provided to a processor or controller of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that the program codes, when executed by the processor or controller, cause the functions/operations specified in the flowcharts and/or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may execute entirely on a machine, partly on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine or entirely on the remote machine or server.

The above program code may be embodied on a machine readable medium, which may be any tangible medium that may contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The machine readable medium may be a machine readable signal medium or a machine readable storage medium. A machine readable medium may include but not limited to an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of the machine readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM) , a read-only memory (ROM) , an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory) , an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) , an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

Further, while operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Likewise, while several specific implementation details are contained in the above discussions, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

A method of communication, comprising:

receiving, at a receiving device in a sidelink transmission, information from a transmitting device in the sidelink transmission;

determining a mode of a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback for the reception of the information; and

determining, from a set of resources for HARQ feedback, a resource for transmission of the feedback based on the HARQ feedback mode.
The method of claim 1, wherein determining the HARQ feedback mode comprises at least one of:

receiving an indication of the HARQ feedback mode from the transmitting device;

receiving an indication of the HARQ feedback mode from a network device serving the receiving device; or

determining according to a cast type of the sidelink transmission.
The method of claim 1, wherein determining the resource further comprises:

determining the resource based on at least one of resource associated with transmission of the information, a cast type of the sidelink transmission, transmission power of the receiving device, the number of devices that can be multiplexed in a single physical resource block (PRB) for the HARQ feedback, and a data type of the information.
The method of claim 1, wherein the HARQ feedback mode is selected from a group consisting of:

a first mode in which only a negative acknowledge (NACK) for the reception of the information is fed back to the transmitting device;

a second mode in which an acknowledge (ACK) for the reception of the information is fed back to the transmitting device in a frequency resource, or a negative acknowledge (NACK) for the reception of the information is fed back to the transmitting device in the frequency resource; or

a third mode in which an acknowledge (ACK) for the reception of the information is fed back to the transmitting device in a first frequency resource, or a negative acknowledge (NACK) for the reception of the information is fed back to the transmitting device in a second frequency resource different from the first frequency resource.
The method of claim 4, wherein determining the resource comprises:

ifthe first mode is determined as the HARQ feedback mode,

determining an index of a sub-channel associated with the received information, the sub-channel being a minimum granularity of time-frequency resources used for transmission of the information; and

determining the resource based on a reference starting point configured for the resource and the index of the sub-channel.
The method of claim 4, wherein determining the resource comprises:

if the first mode is determined as the mode and the information is transmitted from the transmitting device to the receiving device via a groupcast session,

determining an index of the groupcast session associated with the information; and

determining the resource based on a reference starting point configured for the resource and the index of the groupcast session.
The method of claim 1, wherein determining the resource comprises:

if an index of a physical resource block (PRB) for the HARQ feedback is configured or preconfigured, determining the resource based on the index.
The method of claim 4, wherein determining the resource comprises:

if the second mode is determined as the HARQ feedback mode,

determining an index of a sub-channel associated with the received information, the sub-channel being a minimum granularity of time-frequency resources used for transmission of the information; and

determining the resource based on a reference starting point configured for the resource and the index.
The method of claim 4, wherein determining the resource comprises:

if the second mode is determined as the HARQ feedback mode and transmission power of the receiving device being in a first range, determining the resource based on a first value configured for an index of a physical resource block (PRB) for the HARQ feedback; and/or

if the second mode is determined as the HARQ feedback mode and transmission power of the receiving device being in a second range different from the first range, determining the resource based on a second value different from the first value configured for the index of the PRB for the HARQ feedback.
The method of claim 4, wherein determining the resource comprises:

if the second mode is determined as the HARQ feedback mode and the information is transmitted from the transmitting device to the receiving device via a groupcast session,

determining an index of the groupcast session associated with the information; and

determining the resource based on a reference starting point configured for the resource, the index of the groupcast session and a predetermined value.
The method of any of claim 5-10, further comprising:

determining a sequence for the HARQ feedback based on a cyclic shift value being configured or preconfigured; and

transmitting the HARQ feedback to the transmitting device using the sequence on the resource.
The method of claim 4, wherein determining the resource comprises:

if the second mode is determined as the HARQ feedback mode and the number of devices that can be multiplexed in a single physical resource block (PRB) for HARQ feedback is configured or preconfigured,

determining an index of a sub-channel associated with the received information, the sub-channel being a minimum granularity of time-frequency resources used for transmission of the information; and

determining the resource based on a reference starting point configured for the resource, the number of devices that can be multiplexed in a single PRB for HARQ feedback, and the index of the sub-channel.
The method of claim 4, wherein determining the resource comprises:

if the second mode is determined as the HARQ feedback mode, the number of devices that can be multiplexed in a single physical resource block (PRB) for HARQ feedback is configured or preconfigured, and transmission power of the receiving device is in a first range,

determining an index of a sub-channel associated with the received information, the sub-channel being a minimum granularity of time-frequency resources used for transmission of the information; and

determining the resource based on a first reference starting point configured for the resource, the index, and the number of devices that can be multiplexing in a single PRB for HARQ feedback; and/or

if the second mode is determined as the HARQ feedback mode, the number of devices that can be multiplexed in a single physical resource block (PRB) for HARQ feedback is configured or preconfigured, and the transmission power of the receiving device is in a second range different from the first range,

determining the index of the sub-channel associated with the information, the sub-channel being a minimum granularity of time-frequency resources used for transmission of the information; and

determining the resource based on a second reference starting point different from the first starting point configured for the resource, the index, and the number of devices that can be multiplexing in a single PRB for HARQ feedback.
The method of any of claims 12-13, further comprising:

determining a first sequence for one of acknowledge (ACK) and negative acknowledge (NACK) in the HARQ feedback based on the index of the sub-channel and the number of devices that can be multiplexing in a single PRB for HARQ feedback;

determining a second sequence for the other of ACK and NACK in the feedback based on the first sequence and a second predetermined value; and

transmitting the HARQ feedback to the transmitting device using the first or second sequence on the resource.
The method of claim 4, wherein determining the resource comprises:

if the second mode is determined as the HARQ feedback mode, the number of devices that can be multiplexed in a single physical resource block (PRB) for HARQ feedback is configured or preconfigured, and the information is transmitted from the transmitting device to the receiving device via a groupcast session,

determining an index of the groupcast session associated with the information;

determining an index of the receiving device in the groupcast session; and

determining the resource based on a reference starting point configured for the resource, the index of the groupcast session, the index of the receiving device, the number of devices that can be multiplexing in a single PRB for HARQ feedback, and a first predetermined value.
The method of claim 15, further comprising:

determining a first sequence for one of acknowledge (ACK) and negative acknowledge (NACK) in the HARQ feedback based on the index of the receiving device and the number of devices that can be multiplexing in a single PRB for HARQ feedback;

determining a second sequence for the other of ACK and NACK in the feedback based on the first sequence and a second predetermined value; and

transmitting the HARQ feedback to the transmitting device using the first or second sequence on the resource.
The method of claim 4, further comprising:

if the second mode is determined as the HARQ feedback mode, an index of a physical resource block (PRB) for the feedback is configured or preconfigured, and the information is transmitted from the transmitting device to the receiving device via a groupcast session,

determining a sequence for the HARQ feedback based on an index of the receiving device in the groupcast session; and

transmitting the HARQ feedback to the transmitting device using the sequence on resource corresponding to the index of the PRB for the HARQ feedback.
The method of claim 4, wherein determining the resource comprises:

if the second mode is determined as the HARQ feedback mode and the information is transmitted from the transmitting device to the receiving device via a groupcast session,

determining an index of a sub-channel associated with the received information, the sub-channel being a minimum granularity of time-frequency resources used for transmission of the information; and

determining the resource based on a reference starting point configured for the resource and the index of the sub-channel.
The method of claim 18, further comprising:

determining a sequence for the feedback based on an index of the receiving device in the groupcast session; and

transmitting the feedback to the transmitting device using the sequence on the resource.
The method of claim 4, wherein determining the resource comprises:

ifthe third mode is determined as the HARQ feedback mode,

determining the first frequency resource for transmission of an acknowledge (ACK) in the feedback; and

determining the second frequency resource for transmission of a negative acknowledge (NACK) in the feedback.
The method of claim 20, wherein determining the first frequency resource comprises:

if the third mode is determined as the HARQ feedback mode, the number of devices that can be multiplexed in a single physical resource block (PRB) for HARQ feedback is configured or preconfigured, and the information is transmitted from the transmitting device to the receiving device via a groupcast session,

determining an index of the groupcast session associated with the information;

determining an index of the receiving device in the groupcast session; and

determining the first frequency resource based on a reference starting point configured for the resource, the index of the groupcast session, the index of the receiving device, the number of devices that can be multiplexed in a single physical resource block for HARQ feedback, and a first predetermined value.
The method of claim 21, further comprising:

determining a sequence for the ACK in the feedback based on the index of the receiving device and the number of devices that can be multiplexed in a single physical resource block (PRB) for HARQ feedback; and

transmitting the ACK to the transmitting device using the sequence on the first frequency resource.
The method of claim 20, wherein determining the first frequency resource comprises:

if the third mode is determined as the HARQ feedback mode and the information is transmitted from the transmitting device to the receiving device via a groupcast session,

determining an index of the groupcast session associated with the information; and

determining the first frequency resource based on a reference starting point configured for the resource, the index of the groupcast session, and a predetermined value.
The method of claim 23, further comprising:

determining a sequence for the ACK in the feedback based on a cyclic shift value being configured or preconfigured; and

transmitting the ACK to the transmitting device using the sequence on the first frequency resource.
The method of claim 20, further comprising:

if the third mode is determined as the HARQ feedback mode, an index of a physical resource block (PRB) for the feedback is configured or preconfigured, and the information is transmitted from the transmitting device to the receiving device via a groupcast session,

determining a sequence for the ACK based on an index of the receiving device in the groupcast session; and

transmitting the ACK to the transmitting device using the sequence on the first frequency resource corresponding to the index of the PRB for the HARQ feedback.
The method of claim 20, wherein determining the first frequency resource comprises:

if the third mode is determined as the HARQ feedback mode and the information is transmitted from the transmitting device to the receiving device via a groupcast session,

determining an index of a sub-channel associated with the received information, the sub-channel being a minimum granularity of time-frequency resources used for transmission of the information; and

determining the first frequency resource based on a reference starting point configured for the resource and the index of the sub-channel.
The method of claim 26, further comprising:

determining a sequence for the ACK in the feedback based on an index of the receiving device in the groupcast session; and

transmitting the ACK to the transmitting device using the sequence on the first frequency resource.
The method of claim 20, wherein determining the second frequency resource comprises:

determining an index of a sub-channel associated with the received information, the sub-channel being a minimum granularity of time-frequency resources used for transmission of the information; and

determining the second frequency resource based on a reference starting point configured for the resource and the index of the sub-channel.
The method of claim 20, determining the second frequency resource comprises:

if the information is transmitted from the transmitting device to the receiving device via a groupcast session,

determining an index of the groupcast session associated with the information; and

determining the second frequency resource based on a reference starting point configured for the resource and the index of the groupcast session.
The method of any of claims 28 and 29, further comprising:

determining a sequence for the NACK in the feedback based on a cyclic shift value being configured or preconfigured; and

transmitting the NACK to the transmitting device using the sequence on the second frequency resource.
A method of communication, comprising:

transmitting, at a transmitting device in a sidelink transmission, information to a receiving device in the sidelink transmission; and

receiving a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback for reception of the information from the receiving device, the HARQ feedback being transmitted on resource determined from a set of resources for the HARQ feedback based on a mode of the HARQ feedback.
The method of claim 31, wherein the HARQ feedback mode is selected from a group consisting of:

a first mode in which only a negative acknowledge (NACK) for the reception of the information is fed back to the transmitting device;

a second mode in which an acknowledge (ACK) for the reception of the information is fed back to the transmitting device in a frequency resource, or a negative acknowledge (NACK) for the reception of the information is fed back to the transmitting device in the frequency resource; or

a third mode in which an acknowledge (ACK) for the reception of the information is fed back to the transmitting device in a first frequency resource, or a negative acknowledge (NACK) for the reception of the information is fed back to the transmitting device in a second frequency resource difference from the first frequency resource.
The method of claim 32, further comprising:

determining the HARQ feedback mode at the transmitting device; and

transmitting an indication of the HARQ feedback mode to the receiving device.
The method of claim 33, determining the HARQ feedback mode comprising:

obtaining the set of resources from a network device serving the transmitting device;

determining the number of resources in the set of resources available to transmit an acknowledge (ACK) and a negative acknowledge (NACK) in the feedback using different sequences; and

determining the HARQ feedback mode as the first mode if the determined number of resources is zero.
A receiving device comprising:

a processor; and

a memory coupled to the processor and storing instructions thereon, the instructions, when executed by the processor, causing the receiving device to perform the method according to any of claims 1 to 30.
A transmitting device comprising:

a processor; and

a memory coupled to the processor and storing instructions thereon, the instructions, when executed by the processor, causing the transmitting device to perform the method according to any of claims 31 to 34.
A computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when executed on at least one processor, causing the at least one processor to perform the method according to any of claims 1 to 30.
A computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when executed on at least one processor, causing the at least one processor to perform the method according to any of claims 31 to 34.