WO2023151099A1

WO2023151099A1 - Configuration of multiple transmission segment durations

Info

Publication number: WO2023151099A1
Application number: PCT/CN2022/076256
Authority: WO
Inventors: Gilsoo LEE; Tzu-Chung Hsieh; Mads LAURIDSEN; Jing Yuan Sun
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy; Nokia Technologies Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy; Nokia Technologies Oy
Priority date: 2022-02-14
Filing date: 2022-02-14
Publication date: 2023-08-17
Anticipated expiration: 2024-08-14
Also published as: CN118715845A

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to configuration of multiple transmission segment durations. A first device receives, from a second device, configuration information about transmission segment durations and time instances associated with the transmission segment durations. In turn, the first device performs transmission to the second device by applying, at at least one of the time instances, at least one of the transmission segment durations associated with the at least one of the time instances.

Description

CONFIGURATION OF MULTIPLE TRANSMISSION SEGMENT DURATIONS

FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunication and in particular, to devices, methods, apparatus and computer readable storage media for configuration of multiple transmission segment durations.

BACKGROUND

Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) is studied to provide access to a terminal device by serving the terminal device through a satellite. For a long uplink (UL) transmission, a Timing Advance (TA) error in NTN can be large, and thus the TA is compensated with every transmission segment duration. Based on current agreements in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) , a single transmission segment duration is applied to multiple blocks of 256 ms. However, since TA drift rate is related to an elevation angle of the satellite and the satellite moves along the orbit, applying the single transmission segment duration may not be able to cover the elevation angle change and TA drift rate change over a long time period.

SUMMARY

In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for configuration of multiple transmission segment durations.

In a first aspect, there is provided a first device. The first device comprises at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program codes. The at least one memory and the computer program codes are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the first device to: receive, from a second device, configuration information about transmission segment durations and time instances associated with the transmission segment durations; and perform transmission to the second device by applying, at at least one of the time instances, at least one of the transmission segment durations associated with the at least one of the time instances.

In a second aspect, there is provided a second device. The second device comprises at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program codes. The at least one memory and the computer program codes are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the second device to: determine transmission segment durations and time instances associated with the transmission segment durations; and transmit, to a first device, configuration information about the transmission segment durations and the time instances.

In a third aspect, there is provided a method implemented at a first device. The method comprises: receiving, at a first device from a second device, configuration information about transmission segment durations and time instances associated with the transmission segment durations; and performing transmission to the second device by applying, at at least one of the time instances, at least one of the transmission segment durations associated with the at least one of the time instances.

In a fourth aspect, there is provided a method implemented at a second device. The method comprises: determining, at a second device, transmission segment durations and time instances associated with the transmission segment durations; and transmitting, to a first device, configuration information about the transmission segment durations and the time instances.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided a first apparatus. The first apparatus comprises: means for receiving, from a second apparatus, configuration information about transmission segment durations and time instances associated with the transmission segment durations; and means for performing transmission to the second apparatus by applying, at at least one of the time instances, at least one of the transmission segment durations associated with the at least one of the time instances.

In a sixth aspect, there is provided a second apparatus. The second apparatus comprises: means for determining transmission segment durations and time instances associated with the transmission segment durations; and means for transmitting, to a first apparatus, configuration information about the transmission segment durations and the time instances.

In a seventh aspect, there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium. The non-transitory computer readable medium comprises program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform the method according to the third or fourth aspect.

It is to be understood that the summary section is not intended to identify key or essential features of embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easily comprehensible through the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, where:

Fig. 1 illustrates an example communication network in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

Fig. 2 illustrates a signaling chart illustrating a process for configuration of multiple transmission segment durations according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 3 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a first device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 4 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a second device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 5 illustrates a simplified block diagram of an apparatus that is suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure; and

Fig. 6 illustrates a block diagram of an example computer readable medium in accordance with some example 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 limitation 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.

References in the present disclosure to “one embodiment, ” “an embodiment, ” “an example embodiment, ” and the like indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but it is not necessary that every embodiment includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

It shall be understood that although the terms “first” and “second” etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. 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. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” , “comprising” , “has” , “having” , “includes” and/or “including” , when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and/or components etc., but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and/or combinations thereof.

As used in this application, the term “circuitry” may refer to one or more or all of the following:

(a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and/or digital circuitry) and

(b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable) :

(i) a combination of analog and/or digital hardware circuit (s) with software/firmware and

(ii) any portions of hardware processor (s) with software (including digital signal processor (s) ) , software, and memory (ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions) and

(c) hardware circuit (s) and or processor (s) , such as a microprocessor (s) or a portion of a microprocessor (s) , that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation.

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

As used herein, the term “communication network” refers to a network following any suitable communication standards, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) , LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) , Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) , High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) , Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) and so on. Furthermore, the communications between a terminal device and a network device in the communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocols, including, 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 future fifth generation (5G) communication protocols, and/or any other protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied in various communication systems. Given the rapid development in communications, there will of course also be future type communication technologies and systems with which the present disclosure may be embodied. It should not be seen as limiting the scope of the present disclosure to only the aforementioned system.

As used herein, the term “network device” refers to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services therefrom. The network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP) , for example, a node B (NodeB or NB) , an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB) , a NR Next Generation NodeB (gNB) , a Remote Radio Unit (RRU) , a radio header (RH) , a remote radio head (RRH) , Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) node, a relay, a low power node such as a femto, a pico, and so forth, depending on the applied terminology and technology. The network device is allowed to be defined as part of a gNB such as for example in CU/DU split in which case the network device is defined to be either a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU.

The term “terminal device” refers to any end device that may be capable of wireless communication. By way of example rather than limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE) , a Subscriber Station (SS) , a Portable Subscriber Station, a Mobile Station (MS) , or an Access Terminal (AT) . The terminal device may include, but not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, a tablet, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA) , portable computers, desktop computer, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback appliances, vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE) , laptop-mounted equipment (LME) , USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer-premises equipment (CPE) , an Internet of Things (loT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD) , a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery) , an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and/or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and/or an automated processing chain contexts) , a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and/or industrial wireless networks, and the like. In the following description, the terms “terminal device” , “communication device” , “terminal” , “user equipment” and “UE” may be used interchangeably.

As mentioned above, since TA drift rate is related to an elevation angle between a terminal device and the satellite and the satellite moves along the orbit, applying the single transmission segment duration may not be able to cover the elevation angle change and TA drift rate change over a long time period. Therefore, if the single transmission segment duration is configured, a possible solution is to define the shortest segment duration that can be commonly applicable to a terminal device in any elevation angle. However, it will result in more frequent TA adjustments than necessary, thus increasing processing complexity of the terminal device. Also, to configure the single transmission segment duration depending on a certain elevation angle between the terminal device and the satellite, a network device has to update the transmission segment duration when the elevation angle between the terminal device and the satellite goes beyond the applicable range. As a result, more signaling overhead is required with additional delay and some risk of link failure during a long UL transmission.

In order to solve the above and other potential problems, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for configuration of multiple transmission segment durations. In the solution, a second device determines transmission segment durations and time instances associated with the transmission segment durations and transmits, to a first device, configuration information about the transmission segment durations and the time instances. Upon receiving the configuration information, the first device performs transmission to the second device by applying, at at least one of the time instances, at least one of the transmission segment durations associated with the at least one of the time instances. In this way, frequent TA adjustments may be avoided without increasing processing complexity of the first device. Principle and implementations of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to Figs. 1 to 6.

Fig. 1 illustrates an example communication network 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. In some embodiments, the network 100 may be implemented as an NTN. As shown in Fig. 1, the communication network 100 comprises a first device 110, a second device 120, a satellite 130, a gateway (GW) 140 and a NTN Control Center (NCC) 150.

NTN may refer to a network, or a segment of networks, using radio frequency, RF, resources in a satellite or an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) . The satellite or UAS may provide service, for example NR service, on Earth via one or more satellite beams and one or more cells, for example NR cells, over a given service area bounded by the field of view of the satellite. There may be a service link, i.e. a radio link, between the satellite and one or more terminal devices within the targeted service area. Furthermore, there may be a feeder link, i.e. a radio link, between the satellite and one or more satellite gateways. The satellite gateway may connect the satellite for example to a public data network. gNB functionality may be comprised for example in the satellite, the gateway, and/or in the data network may comprise access node functionalities, for example gNB functionalities.

NTN may be supported by 5G standards. For example, a 5G access node, a gNB, may be deployed on board satellites to allow coverage to areas such as those that might otherwise not be covered by a cellular communication network. This may enable 5G signals to be beamed down from space thereby enhancing the terrestrial infrastructure of a wireless communication network. It may also help to improve reliability of wireless communication during disasters such as earthquakes that may damage the terrestrial access nodes for example. It is to be noted that in some alternative embodiments the gNB may be located on ground and have a backhaul connection through the satellite.

Various types of satellites exist. For example, some satellites have been in orbit for decades and may operate 36 000 kilometers above the Earth. Some satellites are considered as Low Earth Orbit, LEO, satellites. Such satellites may operate between 300 and 2000 kilometers above the Earth. Some LEO satellites operate at approximately 600 kilometers above the Earth. A low orbit allows latency to be reduced as the satellite may be in a position that enables to quickly receive and transmit data.

Internet of things (IoT) may be understood as a network of physical objects that are connected to each other and/or the Internet. The physical objects may be apparatuses, that may also be called as IoT devices that connect to each other using for example cellular communication network. Such apparatuses may be imbedded for example into mobile devices, industrial equipment, environmental sensors and medical devices. Further, such apparatuses may comprise various sensors that produce data related to the respective apparatus that may then be provided to other apparatuses and therefore the apparatuses may be understood to be the things of the IoT. The apparatuses comprised in the IoT may be used to provide an interface between the surrounding physical environment and a digital environment. The apparatuses may have various technical capabilities and some apparatuses used for IoT may be low-cost apparatuses that have limited hardware resources for example.

Cellular communication networks may be utilized for connectivity between apparatuses used in an IoT environment. For example, narrow-band IoT (NB-IoT) is a cellular standard for low-power wide-area (LPWA) , machine to machine networks. NB-IoT may be used for low-throughput, delay-tolerant applications, such as meters and sensors. NB-IoT may be deployed for example within an existing LTE band, in guard-band between two regular LTE carriers, or in standalone mode. Also enhanced machine-type communication (eMTC) may be used for IoT and it is optimized lower complexity and/or power, deeper coverage, and higher device density. eMTC may seamlessly coexist with other cellular network services such as regular mobile broadband. It is envisaged that NB-IoT and eMTC may utilize NTN as well.

The second device 120 determines transmission segment durations and time instances associated with the transmission segment durations. In turn, the second device 120 transmits, to the first device 110, configuration information about the transmission segment durations and the time instances. Upon receiving the configuration information, the first device 110 performs transmission to the second device 120 by applying, at at least one of the time instances, at least one of the transmission segment durations associated with the at least one of the time instances. In this way, frequent TA adjustments may be avoided without increasing processing complexity of the first device 110.

In some embodiments, measurements of position and velocity of the satellite 130 may be made at the satellite 130 with on-board GNSS. The measurements may be collected by the NCC 150. The NCC 150 may generate the ephemeris data of the satellite 130 and transmit the ephemeris data to the GW 140 or directly to the second device 120. Then, the GW 140 may transmit the ephemeris data to the second device 120. In other embodiments, the second device 120 may be onboard the satellite 130. Then, the second device 120 may broadcast the ephemeris data periodically in a system information block (SIB) .

In this example, only for ease of discussion, the first device 110 is illustrated as a terminal device and the second device 120 is illustrated as a network device serving the terminal device 110. It is to be understood that the terminal device and the network device are only example implementations of the first device 110 and the second device 120, respectively, without suggesting any limitation as to the scope of the present application. Any other suitable implementations are possible as well.

It is to be understood that the numbers of first and second devices as well as the satellite, GW and NCC as shown in Fig. 1 are only for the purpose of illustration without suggesting any limitations. The network 100 may include any suitable number of first and second devices as well as the satellite, GW and NCC adapted for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

The communications in the network 100 may conform to any suitable standards including, but not limited to, LTE, LTE-evolution, LTE-advanced (LTE-A) , wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) , code division multiple access (CDMA) and global system for mobile communications (GSM) 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 shows a signaling chart illustrating a process 200 for configuration of multiple transmission segment durations according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the process 200 will be described with reference to Fig. 1. The process 200 may involve the first device 110 and the second device 120 as illustrated in Fig. 1. Although the process 200 has been described in the communication network 100 of Fig. 1, this process may be likewise applied to other communication scenarios.

As shown in Fig. 2, the second device 120 determines (230) transmission segment durations and time instances associated with the transmission segment durations. In turn, the second device 120 transmits (240) , to the first device 110, configuration information about the transmission segment durations and the time instances.

Upon receiving (245) the configuration information, the first device 110 performs (250) transmission to the second device 120 by applying, at at least one of the time instances, at least one of the transmission segment durations associated with the at least one of the time instances. Accordingly, the second device 120 receives (255) the transmission at the at least one of the time instances. In this way, frequent TA adjustments may be avoided without increasing processing complexity of the first device 110.

In some embodiments, the first device 110 may apply at least one of the transmission segment durations depending on an elevation angle between the first device 110 and the satellite 130.

The solution of the present disclosure may be applied to cover a long UL transmission. For example, the total time period of the long UL transmission may consist of multiple blocks of 256 ms (which is the maximum transmission period currently allowed by specification) . It is also possible to extend the transmission period beyond 256 ms. For instance, a long UL transmission may be a super period that is for example, X times of {256 ms period + 40 ms} where 40 ms is a legacy UL gap when subcarrier spacing is 15 kHz. Different transmission segment durations will be applied over time. The transmission segment duration may be adjusted between blocks.

In addition, the solution of the present disclosure may be applied to different format of a long UL transmission. For example, an UL gap for TA adjustment may be inserted between two transmission segments. Also, a format may be defined without inserting a UL gap if puncturing is used for TA adjustment.

In some embodiments, the configuration information may be for a time duration. In some embodiments, the time duration may comprise an estimation of a first connection time period between the first device 110 and the second device 120. Hereinafter, the estimation of a first connection time period is also referred to as an expectation of a first connection time period.

In some embodiments, the first device 110 may determine (210) the estimation of the first connection time period. For instance, the first device 110 may determine the estimation of the first connection time period based on at least one of the following: (i) an average data rate in transmission (including past transmission) or (ii) the average data rate that is predefined or configured for estimation of the first connection time period. This estimation method is necessary since it may be difficult for the first device 110 to know the future cell load and scheduling algorithm of the second device 120. Also, the first device 110 may not know the actual MCS, the number of repetitions, and BW used for future transmission.

In turn, the first device 110 may transmit (220) the estimation of the first connection time period to the second device 120 before receiving the configuration information from the second device 120. Accordingly, the second device 120 may receive (225) the estimation of the first connection time period from the first device 110.

In some embodiments, alternatively, the second device 120 may determine the estimation of the first connection time period. In such embodiments, before transmitting the configuration information to the first device 110, the second device 120 may receive, from the first device 110, information about at least one of the following for determination of the estimation of the first connection time period: a buffer size of the first device 110, or channel state information between the first device 110 and the second device 120.

For example, the second device 120 may receive the information about the buffer size of the first device 110 by receiving a Buffer Status Report (BSR) from the first device 110. Since Radio Resource Control (RRC) periodic Narrowband Physical Uplink Shared Channel (NPUSCH) resources are configured by the second device 120 for the first device 110 in a connected mode to send the BSR. Therefore, the second device 120 may be informed when pending traffic has arrived in the buffer of the first device 110. Here, a request for the second device 120 to schedule NPUSCH resources used for the BSR is sent by either a pre-configured Narrowband Physical Random Access Channel (NPRACH) transmission or by piggybacking the request onto HARQ ACK/NACK transmission.

Based on the information about the buffer size of the first device 110, the second device 120 may determine data size to be transmitted by the first device 110. Based on the channel state information between the first device 110 and the second device 120, the second device 120 may determine an estimation of the achievable data rate or throughput. In turn, the second device 120 may determine the estimation of the first connection time period based on the data size and estimation of the achievable data rate or throughput.

As another example, the second device 120 may set the estimation of the first connection time period as the same as the previous connection time. The previous connection time may be a data transmission period or the RRC_CONNECTED period of the first device 110.

In embodiments where the estimation of the first connection time period is changing in scheduling so the estimation of the first connection time period is inaccurate, the configuration information may be for a time period covering the first connection time period, or a second connection time period ending before mobility event of the first device 110.

In some embodiments, the mobility event may comprise handover of the first device 110 away from the second device 120.

In embodiments where the first device comprises an NB-IoT device, the mobility event may comprise a radio link failure or a cell reselection.

In some embodiments, before transmitting the configuration information to the first device 110, the second device 120 may receive, from the first device 110, location information about the first device 110. Alternatively, the second device 120 may obtain the location information about the first device 110 by using the information from the previous connection of the first device 110. The location information may include information about both the current position and future positions of the first device 110. In other words, the location information may include trajectory information for the first device 110 if the first device 110 is moving.

Based on the location information about the first device 110 and location information about the satellite, the second device 120 may determine an elevation angle between the first device 110 and the satellite 130. The elevation angle is used by the first device 110 to derive the TA drift rate. When the second device 120 knows the current elevation angle between the first device 110 and the satellite 130, the second device 120 is able to trace a change in the elevation angle during the first connection time period and thus to trace a change in TA. Thus, the second device 120 may determine the transmission segment durations over the first connection time period based on the elevation angles between the first device 110 and the satellite 130.

Alternatively, if the location information about the first device 110 is unknown or inaccurate, the second device 120 may use beam direction of the satellite and beam width of the satellite to estimate the cell coverage area as an area of possible location of the first device 110. In turn, the second device 120 may use the cell coverage area to estimate a range of possible elevation angles for the first device 110 and use the lowest elevation angle in the range (corresponding to the highest TA drift rate) to determine the transmission segment durations over the first connection time period. This embodiment is well aligned with Release 18 in that the network device in Release 18 will be used to estimate the first device 110’s location without the first device 110’s GNSS based on AoA of the first device 110’s signal.

For the range of the changing elevation angle in the first connection time period, the second device 120 may find the proper transmission segment durations.

In some embodiments, at least one of the transmission segment durations and the time instances may need to be updated. For example, if the estimation of the first connection time period is different to the actual connection time or mobility of the first device 110 incurs the changing in the proper transmission segment durations, the transmission segment durations could be inaccurate in a future time. If the first device 110 finds out that the current setting of transmission segment durations is not suitable, the first device 110 can trigger to re-acquire the transmission segment durations by transmitting to the second device a request for updating. For example, the first device 110 may perform a sanity check of the network’s calculation by estimating the first device 110’s own TA drift using location and ephemeris, so as to determine whether at least one of the transmission segment durations and the time instances is need to be updated.

In some embodiments, the request for updating at least one of the transmission segment durations and the time instances may comprises at least one of the following: an updated estimation of the first connection time period between the first device 110 and the second device 120, BSR, or location information of the first device 110.

In some embodiments, if location of the first device 110 largely changes due to the first device 110 movement, a fallback method may be used. In the fallback method, the first device 110 uses more conservative (i.e., shorter) transmission segment duration. In this case, the second device 120 may know whether the first device 110 is using the fallback method by using the following: (a) the first device 110 will send a signal to the second device 120 so that the change in transmission segment duration is detected by the second device 120 before or during an UL transmission; (b) if the second device 120 detects a change in the location of the first device 110 by observing satellite direction and beam width, the second device 120 assumes that the first device 110 will use the fallback method (i.e., transmitting with a shorter segment duration) .

In some embodiments, each of the time instances is indicated by at least one of the following: a slot number, a subframe number, a system frame number, or a multiple of a respective one of the transmission segment durations.

In some embodiments, the second device 120 may use a system information block (SIB) to broadcast the transmission segment durations for the cell coverage (e.g., the second device 120 sends the most conservative transmission segment durations over time for the cell, especially when the second device 120 has no location information of the first device 110s) and corresponding slot number, subframe number, system frame number, or multiple of a respective one of the transmission segment durations.

Alternatively, the second device 120 may use RRC signaling to deliver the configuration information. The configuration information may comprise the transmission segment durations and the corresponding start time in terms of UL slot number, subframe number, system frame number, or multiple of a respective one of the transmission segment durations. The RRC signaling will be conducted in the downlink channel. Even when the first device 110 becomes unable to perform the uplink transmission due to the mismatch TA setting (i.e., large TA error) , the first device 110 can receive the RRC signaling from the second device 120 by monitoring the PDCCH.

Alternatively, to deliver the configuration information, the second device 120 may use scheduling information for transmission in a first connection time period between the first device 110 and the second device 120, or medium access control control element (MAC CE) . The scheduling information may be a uplink resource grant indicated in Downlink Control Information (DCI) .

In some embodiments, the second device 120 may transmit the configuration information by transmitting a table in SIB or RRC signaling. Then, the second device 120 may indicate in DCI an index in the table as part of the uplink resource grant. The first device 110 shall start with the index for the upcoming transmission.

Fig. 3 shows a flowchart of an example method 300 implemented at a first device in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 300 will be described from the perspective of the first device 110 with reference to Fig. 1.

At block 310, the first device 110 receives, from the second device 120, configuration information about transmission segment durations and time instances associated with the transmission segment durations.

At block 320, the first device 110 performs transmission to the second device 120 by applying, at at least one of the time instances, at least one of the transmission segment durations associated with the at least one of the time instances.

In some embodiments, the configuration information is for a time duration.

In some embodiments, the time duration comprises at least one of the following: an estimation of a first connection time period between the first device 110 and the second device 120, a time period covering the first connection time period, or a second connection time period ending before mobility event of the first device 110.

In some embodiments, the method 300 further comprises: determining the estimation of the first connection time period; and transmitting the estimation of the first connection time period to the second device 120 before receiving the configuration information from the second device 120.

In some embodiments, the method 300 further comprises: before receiving the configuration information from the second device 120, transmitting, to the second device 120, information about at least one of the following for determination of the estimation of the first connection time period: a buffer size of the first device 110, or channel state information between the first device 110 and the second device 120.

In some embodiments, the method 300 further comprises: before receiving the configuration information from the second device 120, transmitting, to the second device 120, location information about the first device 110 for determination of the transmission segment durations and the time instances.

In some embodiments, the method 300 further comprises: transmitting, to the second device 120, a request for updating at least one of the transmission segment durations and the time instances.

In some embodiments, the first device 110 receives the configuration information by receiving at least one of the following that comprises the configuration information: an SIB, an RRC signaling, scheduling information for transmission in a first connection time period between the first device 110 and the second device 120, or MAC CE.

Fig. 4 shows a flowchart of an example method 400 implemented at a second device in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 400 will be described from the perspective of the second device 120 with reference to Fig. 1.

At block 410, the second device 120 determines transmission segment durations and time instances associated with the transmission segment durations.

At block 420, the second device 120 transmits, to the first device 110, configuration information about the transmission segment durations and the time instances.

In some embodiments, the configuration information is for a time duration.

In some embodiments, the method 400 further comprises: determining the estimation of the first connection time period.

In some embodiments, the method 400 further comprises: before transmitting the configuration information to the first device 110, receiving, from the first device 110, information about at least one of the following for determination of the estimation of the first connection time period: a buffer size of the first device 110, or channel state information between the first device 110 and the second device 120.

In some embodiments, the method 400 further comprises: receiving the estimation of the first connection time period from the first device 110 before transmitting the configuration information to the first device 110.

In some embodiments, the method 400 further comprises: before transmitting the configuration information to the first device 110, receiving, from the first device 110, location information about the first device 110. In such embodiments, the second device 120 determines the transmission segment durations and the time instances at least based on the location information.

In some embodiments, the method 400 further comprises: updating at least one of the transmission segment durations and the time instances in response to receiving a request for the updating from the first device 110; and transmitting, to the first device 110, configuration information about the updated transmission segment durations and the updated time instances.

In some embodiments, the second device 120 transmits the configuration information by transmitting at least one of the following that comprises the configuration information: an SIB, an RRC signaling, scheduling information for transmission in a first connection time period between the first device 110 and the second device 120, or MAC CE.

In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing any of the method 300 (for example, a first apparatus) may comprise means for performing the respective steps of the method 300. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises: means for receiving, from a second apparatus, configuration information about transmission segment durations and time instances associated with the transmission segment durations; and means for performing transmission to the second apparatus by applying, at at least one of the time instances, at least one of the transmission segment durations associated with the at least one of the time instances.

In some embodiments, the configuration information is for a time duration.

In some embodiments, the time duration comprises at least one of the following: an estimation of a first connection time period between the first apparatus and the second apparatus, a time period covering the first connection time period, or a second connection time period ending before mobility event of the first apparatus.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for determining the estimation of the first connection time period; and means for transmitting the estimation of the first connection time period to the second apparatus before receiving the configuration information from the second apparatus.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: before receiving the configuration information from the second apparatus, means for transmitting, to the second apparatus, information about at least one of the following for determination of the estimation of the first connection time period: a buffer size of the first apparatus, or channel state information between the first apparatus and the second apparatus.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: before receiving the configuration information from the second apparatus, means for transmitting, to the second apparatus, location information about the first apparatus for determination of the transmission segment durations and the time instances.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for transmitting, to the second apparatus, a request for updating at least one of the transmission segment durations and the time instances.

In some embodiments, means for receiving the configuration information comprises: means for receiving at least one of the following that comprises the configuration information: an SIB, an RRC signaling, scheduling information for transmission in a first connection time period between the first apparatus and the second apparatus, or MAC CE.

In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing any of the method 400 (for example, a second apparatus) may comprise means for performing the respective steps of the method 400. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module.

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus comprises: means for determining transmission segment durations and time instances associated with the transmission segment durations; and means for transmitting, to a first apparatus, configuration information about the transmission segment durations and the time instances.

In some embodiments, the configuration information is for a time duration.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for determining the estimation of the first connection time period.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: before transmitting the configuration information to the first apparatus, means for receiving, from the first apparatus, information about at least one of the following for determination of the estimation of the first connection time period: a buffer size of the first apparatus, or channel state information between the first apparatus and the second apparatus.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for receiving the estimation of the first connection time period from the first apparatus before transmitting the configuration information to the first apparatus.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: before transmitting the configuration information to the first apparatus, means for receiving, from the first apparatus, location information about the first apparatus. In such embodiments, means for determining the transmission segment durations and the time instances comprises means for determining the transmission segment durations and the time instances at least based on the location information.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for updating at least one of the transmission segment durations and the time instances in response to receiving a request for the updating from the first apparatus; and means for transmitting, to the first apparatus, configuration information about the updated transmission segment durations and the updated time instances.

In some embodiments, means for transmitting the configuration information comprises: means for transmitting at least one of the following that comprises the configuration information: an SIB, an RRC signaling, scheduling information for transmission in a first connection time period between the first apparatus and the second apparatus, or MAC CE.

Fig. 5 is a simplified block diagram of a device 500 that is suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 500 may be provided to implement the communication device, for example, the first device 110 or the second device 120 as shown in Fig. 1. As shown, the device 500 includes one or more processors 510, one or more memories 520 coupled to the processor 510, and one or more communication modules 540 coupled to the processor 510.

The communication module 540 is for bidirectional communications. The communication module 540 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication. The communication interface may represent any interface that is necessary for communication with other network elements.

The processor 510 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may include one or more of the following: general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The device 500 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.

The memory 520 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of the non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a Read Only Memory (ROM) 524, an electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM) , a flash memory, a hard disk, a compact disc (CD) , a digital video disk (DVD) , and other magnetic storage and/or optical storage. Examples of the volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a random access memory (RAM) 522 and other volatile memories that will not last in the power-down duration.

A computer program 530 includes computer executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 510. The program 530 may be stored in the ROM 524. The processor 510 may perform any suitable actions and processing by loading the program 530 into the RAM 522.

The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by means of the program 530 so that the device 500 may perform any process of the disclosure as discussed with reference to Figs. 1 to 4. The embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

In some example embodiments, the program 530 may be tangibly contained in a computer readable medium which may be included in the device 500 (such as in the memory 520) or other storage devices that are accessible by the device 500. The device 500 may load the program 530 from the computer readable medium to the RAM 522 for execution. The computer readable medium may include any types of tangible non-volatile storage, such as ROM, EPROM, a flash memory, a hard disk, CD, DVD, and the like. Fig. 6 shows an example of the computer readable medium 600 in form of CD or DVD. The computer readable medium has the program 530 stored thereon.

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 representations, it is to be understood that the block, apparatus, system, technique or method 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

methods

300 and 400 as described above with reference to Figs. 3 and 4. 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.

In the context of the present disclosure, the computer program codes or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable the device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of the carrier include a signal, computer readable medium, and the like.

The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer 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 computer 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 languages 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 first device, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code;

wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the first device to:

receive, from a second device, configuration information about transmission segment durations and time instances associated with the transmission segment durations; and

perform transmission to the second device by applying, at at least one of the time instances, at least one of the transmission segment durations associated with the at least one of the time instances.
The first device of claim 1, wherein the configuration information is for a time duration.
The first device of claim 2, wherein the time duration comprises at least one of the following:

an estimation of a first connection time period between the first device and the second device,

a time period covering the first connection time period, or

a second connection time period ending before mobility event of the first device.
The first device of claim 3, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the first device to:

determine the estimation of the first connection time period; and

transmit the estimation of the first connection time period to the second device before receiving the configuration information from the second device.
The first device of claim 3, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the first device to:

before receiving the configuration information from the second device, transmit, to the second device, information about at least one of the following for determination of the estimation of the first connection time period:

a buffer size of the first device, or

channel state information between the first device and the second device.
The first device of claim 1, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the first device to:

before receiving the configuration information from the second device, transmit, to the second device, location information about the first device for determination of the transmission segment durations and the time instances.
The first device of claim 1, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the first device to:

transmit, to the second device, a request for updating at least one of the transmission segment durations and the time instances.
The first device of claim 1, wherein the first device is caused to receive the configuration information by receiving at least one of the following that comprises the configuration information:

a system information block (SIB) ,

a radio resource control (RRC) signaling,

scheduling information for transmission in a first connection time period between the first device and the second device, or

medium access control control element (MAC CE) .
The first device of claim 1, wherein each of the time instances is indicated by at least one of the following:

a slot number,

a subframe number,

a system frame number, or

a multiple of a respective one of the transmission segment durations.
A second device, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code;

wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the second device to:

determine transmission segment durations and time instances associated with the transmission segment durations; and

transmit, to a first device, configuration information about the transmission segment durations and the time instances.
The second device of claim 10, wherein the configuration information is for a time duration.
The second device of claim 11, wherein the time duration comprises at least one of the following:

an estimation of a first connection time period between the first device and the second device,

a time period covering the first connection time period, or

a second connection time period ending before mobility event of the first device.
The second device of claim 12, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the second device to:

determine the estimation of the first connection time period.
The second device of claim 13, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the second device to:

before transmitting the configuration information to the first device, receive, from the first device, information about at least one of the following for determination of the estimation of the first connection time period:

a buffer size of the first device, or

channel state information between the first device and the second device.
The second device of claim 12, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the second device to:

receive the estimation of the first connection time period from the first device before transmitting the configuration information to the first device.
The second device of claim 10, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the second device to:

before transmitting the configuration information to the first device, receive, from the first device, location information about the first device; and

wherein the second device is caused to determine the transmission segment durations and the time instances at least based on the location information.
The second device of claim 10, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the second device to:

update at least one of the transmission segment durations and the time instances in response to receiving a request for the updating from the first device; and

transmit, to the first device, configuration information about the updated transmission segment durations and the updated time instances.
The second device of claim 10, wherein the second device is caused to transmit the configuration information by transmitting at least one of the following that comprises the configuration information:

a system information block (SIB) ,

a radio resource control (RRC) signaling,

scheduling information for transmission in a first connection time period between the first device and the second device, or

medium access control control element (MAC CE) .
The second device of claim 10, wherein each of the time instances is indicated by at least one of the following:

a slot number,

a subframe number,

a system frame number, or

a multiple of a respective one of the transmission segment durations.
A method, comprising:

receiving, at a first device from a second device, configuration information about transmission segment durations and time instances associated with the transmission segment durations; and

performing transmission to the second device by applying, at at least one of the time instances, at least one of the transmission segment durations associated with the at least one of the time instances.
A method, comprising:

determining, at a second device, transmission segment durations and time instances associated with the transmission segment durations; and

transmitting, to a first device, configuration information about the transmission segment durations and the time instances.
A first apparatus, comprising:

means for receiving, from a second apparatus, configuration information about transmission segment durations and time instances associated with the transmission segment durations; and

means for performing transmission to the second apparatus by applying, at at least one of the time instances, at least one of the transmission segment durations associated with the at least one of the time instances.
A second apparatus, comprising:

means for determining transmission segment durations and time instances associated with the transmission segment durations; and

means for transmitting, to a first apparatus, configuration information about the transmission segment durations and the time instances.
A computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method of any of claims 20 and 21.