WO2025024991A1

WO2025024991A1 - Using non-cell defining synchronization signal block

Info

Publication number: WO2025024991A1
Application number: PCT/CN2023/109965
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jie Gao; Alexander Hamilton; Dimitri GOLD; Jani-Pekka KAINULAINEN
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: 2023-07-28
Filing date: 2023-07-28
Publication date: 2025-02-06
Anticipated expiration: 2026-01-28

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to using non-cell defining synchronization signal block. In an aspect, a terminal device receives, from a network device, configuration information related to at least one non-cell defining synchronization signal block (NCD-SSB). The at least one NCD-SSB includes a different number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) from a cell defining synchronization signal block (CD-SSB). The terminal device performs, based on the configuration information, a measurement for the at least one NCD-SSB. The embodiments of the present disclosure can realize better measurement performance.

Description

USING NON-CELL DEFINING SYNCHRONIZATION SIGNAL BLOCK

FIELD

Various example embodiments relate to the field of communications and in particular, to a terminal device, a network device, methods, apparatuses and a computer readable storage medium for using non-cell defining synchronization signal block.

BACKGROUND

In the communications area, there is a constant evolution ongoing in order to provide efficient and reliable solutions for utilizing wireless communication networks. Each new generation has it owns technical challenges for handling the different situations and processes that are needed to connect and serve devices connected to the wireless network. To meet the demand for wireless data traffic having increased since deployment of 4th generation (4G) communication systems, efforts have been made to develop an improved 5th generation (5G) or pre-5G communication system. The new communication systems can support various types of service applications for terminal devices.

Some communication technologies relate to narrowband new radio operation (NB NR) . A work item on NR (new radio, also referred to as 5G) support for dedicated spectrum less than 5MHz for FR1 was approved at RAN#94-e. This relates to so called specialized networks, which are used to provide mission critical communications for industry verticals such as smart energy and infrastructure, public safety, and railway communications. These networks would benefit not only from the high spectral efficiency of 5G NR, but also from its ultra-reliability and low latency.

SUMMARY

In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for using non-cell defining synchronization signal block.

In a first aspect, there is provided a terminal device. The terminal 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 terminal device to: receive, from a network device, configuration information related to at least one non-cell defining synchronization signal block (NCD-SSB) , wherein the at least one NCD-SSB includes a different number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) from a cell defining synchronization signal block (CD-SSB) ; and perform, based on the configuration information, a measurement for the at least one NCD-SSB.

In a second aspect, there is provided a network device. The network 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 network device to: determine, for a terminal device, configuration information related to at least one non-cell defining synchronization signal block (NCD-SSB) , wherein the at least one NCD-SSB includes a different number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) from a cell defining synchronization signal block (CD-SSB) ; and transmit, to the terminal device, the configuration information related to the at least one NCD-SSB.

In a third aspect, there is provided a method. The method comprises: receiving, at a terminal device and from a network device, configuration information related to at least one non-cell defining synchronization signal block (NCD-SSB) , wherein the at least one NCD-SSB includes a different number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) from a cell defining synchronization signal block (CD-SSB) ; and performing, based on the configuration information, a measurement for the at least one NCD-SSB.

In a fourth aspect, there is provided a method. The method comprises: determining, at a network device and for a terminal device, configuration information related to at least one non-cell defining synchronization signal block (NCD-SSB) , wherein the at least one NCD-SSB includes a different number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) from a cell defining synchronization signal block (CD-SSB) ; and transmitting, to the terminal device, the configuration information related to the at least one NCD-SSB.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising: means for receiving, at a terminal device and from a network device, configuration information related to at least one non-cell defining synchronization signal block (NCD-SSB) , wherein the at least one NCD-SSB includes a different number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) from a cell defining synchronization signal block (CD-SSB) ; and means for performing, based on the configuration information, a measurement for the at least one NCD-SSB.

In a sixth aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising: means for determining, at a network device and for a terminal device, configuration information related to at least one non-cell defining synchronization signal block (NCD-SSB) , wherein the at least one NCD-SSB includes a different number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) from a cell defining synchronization signal block (CD-SSB) ; and means for transmitting, to the terminal device, the configuration information related to the at least one NCD-SSB.

In a seventh aspect, there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to any one of the above third to fourth aspect.

In an eighth aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions, which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus at least to: receive, from a network device, configuration information related to at least one non-cell defining synchronization signal block (NCD-SSB) , wherein the at least one NCD-SSB includes a different number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) from a cell defining synchronization signal block (CD-SSB) ; and perform, based on the configuration information, a measurement for the at least one NCD-SSB.

In a ninth aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions, which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus at least to: determine, for a terminal device, configuration information related to at least one non-cell defining synchronization signal block (NCD-SSB) , wherein the at least one NCD-SSB includes a different number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) from a cell defining synchronization signal block (CD-SSB) ; and transmit, to the terminal device, the configuration information related to the at least one NCD-SSB.

In a tenth aspect, there is provided a terminal device. The terminal device comprises receiving circuitry configured to receive, from a network device, configuration information related to at least one non-cell defining synchronization signal block (NCD-SSB) , wherein the at least one NCD-SSB includes a different number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) from a cell defining synchronization signal block (CD-SSB) ; and performing circuitry configured to perform, based on the configuration information, a measurement for the at least one NCD-SSB.

In an eleventh aspect, there is provided a network device. The network device comprises determining circuitry configured to determine, for a terminal device, configuration information related to at least one non-cell defining synchronization signal block (NCD-SSB) , wherein the at least one NCD-SSB includes a different number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) from a cell defining synchronization signal block (CD-SSB) ; and transmitting circuitry configured to transmit, to the terminal device, the configuration information related to the at least one NCD-SSB.

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, in which:

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

Fig. 1B illustrates an example structure of SSB at 15 kHz subcarrier spacing;

Fig. 1C illustrates principle of synchronization raster points at frequency range 0-3000 MHz;

Fig. 1D illustrates synchronization raster consideration for 3 MHz bandwidth;

Fig. 1E illustrates an example structure of 12RBs SSB at 15 kHz subcarrier spacing in 3MHz bandwidth;

Fig. 2 illustrates a flowchart of an interaction between a terminal device and a network device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 3 illustrates an example of 15PRBs NCD-SSB location by absoluteFrequencySSB according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 4 illustrates an example of 15PRBs NCD-SSB location by NCD-SSBscsoffset according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 5 illustrates an example of comparison between a case that CD-SSB periodic is 10ms with NCD-SSB timeoffset=5ms and a case that CD-SSB periodic is 5ms according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 6 illustrates a flowchart using 15RBs NCD-SSB according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 7 illustrates a comparison of measurement performance for 12PRBs CD-SSB and 15PRBs NCD-SSB;

Fig. 8 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 9 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a network device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 10 illustrates a simplified block diagram of an apparatus that is suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure; and

Fig. 11 illustrates a block diagram of an example computer readable medium in accordance with some 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 herein, “at least one of the following: <a list of two or more elements>” and “at least one of <a list of two or more elements>” and similar wording, where the list of two or more elements are joined by “and” or “or” , mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all the elements.

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, also referred to as 4G or E-UTRA) , 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 NB (also referred to as a gNB (5G Base station) ) , a Remote Radio Unit (RRU) , a radio header (RH) , a remote radio head (RRH) , a relay, a low power node such as a femto, a pico, and so forth, depending on the applied terminology and technology.

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.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure relate to narrowband new radio (NB NR) operation, for example, using NCD-SSB in 3MHz bandwidth. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, an emerging scenario is involved, for example, an emerging scenario driven by future of the railway communications needs (globally) as well as some smart grid operators in US and public safety in EU. It is a NR Rel-18 work item. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, it is focused on that transmission and reception of the punctured SSB transmission of different bandwidths and related synchronization raster design for the narrowband NR operation.

The work item on NR support for dedicated spectrum less than 5MHz for FR1 was approved at RAN#94-e. This relates to so called specialized networks, which are used to provide mission critical communications for industry verticals such as smart energy and infrastructure, public safety, and railway communications. These networks would benefit not only from the high spectral efficiency of 5G NR, but also from its ultra-reliability and low latency. Some objectives of the WID relevant for the schemes of the embodiments of the present disclosure may be list as below.

Based on the latest RAN1 #113 agreement, 12RBs SSBs will be used at 3MHz bandwidth. But, SSB transmission bandwidth is 12 PRBs (physical resource blocks) , which will impact some ISSUEs 3, 4, 5, 13, 14 in 38.133 RRM impact, R4-2304589. That is bad performance in those scenarios. Compared to the traditional 20RBs SSB, when using 12RBs SSB, the performance will be greatly reduced in such as handover, reselection, re-establishment, etc. So it will be necessary to introduce a better performance solution.

Principle and embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Reference is first made to Fig. 1A, which illustrates an example system 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. The system 100 includes a plurality of terminal devices, such as a terminal device 110, and a plurality of network devices, such as a network device 120. The terminal device 110 and the network device 120 may communication with each other. In some examples, the network device 120 may transmit configuration (s) to the terminal device 110, and the terminal device 110 may, based on the configuration, perform operation (s) , for example, an operation related to measurements.

It is to be understood that the number of network devices and terminal devices is only for the purpose of illustration without suggesting any limitations. The system 100 may include any suitable number of network devices and terminal devices adapted for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

Communications in the communication system 100 may be implemented according to any proper communication protocol (s) , comprising, but not limited to, cellular communication protocols of the first generation (1G) , the second generation (2G) , the third generation (3G) , the fourth generation (4G) and the fifth generation (5G) and on the like, wireless local network communication protocols such as Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 and the like, and/or any other protocols currently known or to be developed in the future. Moreover, the communication may utilize any proper wireless communication technology, comprising but not limited to: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) , Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) , Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) , Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) , Time Division Duplex (TDD) , Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) , Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple (OFDM) , Discrete Fourier Transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) and/or any other technologies currently known or to be developed in the future.

Synchronization signal/PBCH (physical broadcast channel) block (SSB) is a core building block of the NR system. As shown in Fig. 1B, Fig. 1B illustrates an example structure of SSB at 15 kHz subcarrier (SCS) spacing. Two challenges related to SSB can be identified: the PBCH occupies bandwidth of 3.6 MHz, or 20 RBs, and the existing set of possible frequency positions for SSB is rather coarse for bandwidths below 5 MHz. The PBCH needs to be narrowed down to the desired transmission bandwidth, preferably by means of puncturing. Additionally, the set of possible SSB frequency positions needs to be redesigned to support NR bandwidths below 5 MHz.

In the cell search procedure, the UE acquires time and frequency synchronization to a cell, and determines the physical layer cell ID. The UE does this by searching for the PSS (primary synchronization signal) and SSS (secondary synchronization signal) and decoding the PBCH. The 3GPP work item has assumed so far that the current PSS/SSS design is reused without puncturing, which is possible as its bandwidth, 1.905 MHz, is narrower than the transmission bandwidths, down to around 2.16 MHz, that need to be considered.

Channel raster defines a subset of RF reference frequencies that can be used to identify the RF channel position in the uplink and downlink. The RF reference frequency for an RF channel maps to a resource element on the carrier. The channel raster for n8, n26 and n28 bands is 100 kHz. The synchronization raster indicates the frequency positions of the synchronization block that can be used by the UE for system acquisition when explicit signalling of the synchronization block position is not present. In order to expedite cell search, the synchronization raster is much sparser than the channel raster. In the bands of interest, the channel raster typically has a 100 kHz spacing, but the synchronization raster points are defined in clusters of three points where the points in the cluster are separated by 100 kHz (the raster offsets within a cluster are 50, 150 and 250 kHz) and the clusters are separated by 1200 kHz from each other. The principle is depicted in Fig. 1C.

For an allowed bandwidth of 3 MHz, and with the principle of not modifying PSS and SSS, the clusters of synchronization raster points need to be separated by less than 1.2 MHz to facilitate two synchronization clusters, as shown in Fig. 1D. In Fig. 1D, two channels of 3 MHz bandwidth separated by 100 kHz are shown. If SSBs with more than 12RBs are used, there will be multiple types of puncturing, and the performance of the UE during the initial cell searching will be degraded.

Currently Non-cell defining SSB (NCD-SSB) is only defined for reduced capability (RedCap UEs) . Some existing schemes for a description of the NCD-SSB related to the RedCap UEs are as below.

Continuing with reference to Fig. 1D, SSB will use GSCN (Global Synchronization Channel Number) when searching cells, so it will have some limitations, as shown in Fig. 1D. As mentioned above, if use SSBs with more than 12RBs, there will be multiple types of puncturing that will degrade the performance of the UE during the initial cell searching. So the 12RBs SSB scheme may be more suitable for the SSB bandwidth of 3MHz (15RBs) , at least it will only have one puncture type, otherwise there will be multiple types of puncturing. Based on the latest RAN1 #113 agreement, 12RBs SSBs will be used at 3MHz bandwidth. For 3MHz channel bandwidth in all bands (max channel utilization 15 PRBs as already agreed in RAN1/RAN4) : PBCH transmission bandwidth is 12 PRBs. With reference to Fig. 1E, an example structure of 12RBs SSB at 15 kHz subcarrier spacing in 3MHz bandwidth is shown. As mentioned above, the fact that SSB transmission bandwidth is 12 PRBs will impact some ISSUEs 3, 4, 5, 13, 14 in 38.133 RRM impact, R4-2304589. For instance, it will impact on handover requirements, RRC re-establishment requirements, RRC connection release with redirection requirements, UE intra-frequency measurements requirements, and UE inter-frequency measurements requirements, etc.

In the scheme of the embodiments of the present disclosure, it is proposed that a novel way to additional use 15PRBs non-cell defining SSB (time division multiplexing with 12PRBs CD-SSB (CellDefiningSSB) ) for reduced 3MHz bandwidth 15 PRBs. There will have more than one SSBs with a different number of PRBs in one cell. The UE can receive and measure more than one SSBs with a different number of PRBs in one cell or different cells. In this way, the network performance on the UE side will be greatly improved.

Reference is now made to Fig. 2, which shows a flowchart of an interaction between a terminal device 110 and a network device 120 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 2, the process 200 may involve the terminal device 110 and the network device 120 as illustrated in Fig. 1A. It would be appreciated that although the process 200 has been described in the system 100 of Fig. 1A, this process may be likewise applied to other communication scenarios different from the scenario shown in Fig. 1A.

In the process 200, the network device 120 may determine (210) , for the terminal device 110, configuration information 205 related to at least one non-cell defining synchronization signal block (NCD-SSB) . The at least one NCD-SSB may include a different number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) from a cell defining synchronization signal block (CD-SSB) . Then the network device 120 may transmit (220) , to the terminal device 110, the configuration information 205 related to the at least one NCD-SSB. On the terminal device 110 side, the terminal device 110 may receive (230) , from the network device 120, the configuration information 205 related to at least one NCD-SSB.

In some examples, the terminal device 110 may be operated in a 3MHz bandwidth. In some examples, the at least one NCD-SSB may include a first number of PRBs, and the CD-SSB may include a second number of PRBs, and the first number may be larger than the second number. For example, the NCD-SSB may include 14, 15 or 16 PRBs, or the like, and the specific value is not limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure. The CD-SSB may include 12 PRBs. In some embodiments, the network device 120 may transmit, and the terminal device 110 may receive, via a system information block (SIB) or a radio resource control (RRC) message or the combination thereof, the configuration information 205.

The configuration information 205 may be implemented in various ways, such as an absolute frequency of the at least one NCD-SSB, or an offset associated with a subcarrier of the at least one NCD-SSB, etc. The terminal device 110 may calculate at least one frequency location of the at least one NCD-SSB, and based on the at least one frequency location of the at least one NCD-SSB, perform puncturing on a bandwidth associated with the at least one NCD-SSB. The details will be further described in some example embodiments.

In some embodiments, in order to transmit the configuration information 205, the network device 120 may transmit an absolute frequency of the at least one NCD-SSB. On the terminal device 110 side, the terminal device 110 may receive the absolute frequency of the at least one NCD-SSB. As an example, the network device 120 indicates, and a UE (an example of the terminal device 110) receives configurations of 15PRBs NCD-SSB. The UE may perform calculation of the NCD-SSB based on the absolute frequency of the 15PRBs NCD-SSB. NonCellDefining SSB is defined as following (3GPP TS 38.331 V17.4.0 (2023-03) ) .

NonCellDefiningSSB information element

With reference to Fig. 3, which illustrates an example of 15PRBs NCD-SSB location by absoluteFrequencySSB according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The absoluteFrequencySSB as an example of absolute frequency of the at least one NCD-SSB may refer to absoluteFrequencySSB-r17 above. The UE can perform a calculation of the NCD-SSB location based on configured (e.g., SIB or RRC) absoluteFrequencySSB-r17 and known the 15RBs location of 3MHz bandwidth (BW for short) , then to puncture off out of 3MHz BW part based on the calculation.

In some embodiments, in order to transmit the configuration information 205, the network device 120 may transmit an offset associated with a subcarrier of the at least one NCD-SSB. On the terminal device 110 side, the terminal device 110 may receive the offset associated with the subcarrier of the at least one NCD-SSB. In some examples, the offset may be indicated based on an integer, or an enumerated value, or an absolute frequency value, or any combination thereof.

As an example, Fig. 4 illustrates an example of 15PRBs NCD-SSB location by NCD-SSBscsoffset according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, with reference to Fig. 4, RRCNonCellDefiningSSB information element is enhanced with explicit NCD-SSBscsoffset-r18. A new offset value is defined, and the offset value may be based on an integer, Enum or ARFCN-ValueNR. ARFCN represents absolute radio frequency channel number. There are two examples are shown below.

In an example 1, NCD-SSBscsoffset-r18 configuration using enumerated values with negative and positive offset values:

NonCellDefiningSSB information element

In an example 2, configuration using ARFCN-ValueNR:

NonCellDefiningSSB information element

After receiving the configuration, the terminal device 110, e.g. the UE, is able to perform calculation of the NCD-SSB location base on NCD-SSBscsoffset-r18 (corresponding to the offset associated with the subcarrier of the at least one NCD-SSB) and 15RBs location of 3MHz BW, and then the UE may perform bandwidth puncture on 3MHz BW falling outside of the intended bandwidth.

In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may perform the puncturing based on a resource block (RB) level or a subcarrier level. That is, NCD-SSB puncturing can be used as integer RB or non-integer RB, e.g. subcarrier level puncturing.

Based on the configuration information 205 received from the network device 120, the terminal device 110 may perform (240) , a measurement for the at least one NCD-SSB. In some embodiments, in order to perform the measurement, the terminal device 110 may measure the at least one NCD-SSB, or measure at least one SSB partial soft combined based on the CD-SSB and the at least one NCD-SSB, or the combination thereof. As an example, the UE uses 15PRBs NCD-SSB measurements in service cell and neighbor cells measurements. The UE may measure 15 PRBs NCD-SSBs. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may measure 12PRBs CD-SSB+15 PRBs NCD-SSBs with TDM (time division multiplexing) , and may partial soft combine the CD-SSB and the NCD-SSB, due to NCD-SSB content is larger than CD-SSB content) . Partial soft combining the CD-SSB and the NCD-SSB may be based on the same contents between the CD-SSB and the NCD-SSB.

In some embodiments, the CD-SSB is periodic. For the terminal device 110 and the network device 120, based on one or more of the at least one NCD-SSB and the CD-SSB being overlapped and being not the case that the one or more of the at least one NCD-SSB and the CD-SSB are aligned at a frequency center and being fully overlapped, may discard the at least one NCD-SSB. That is, if CD-SSB and NCD-SSB resources overlap, NCD-SSB is discarded, but except the case that the frequency centers of NCD-SSB and CD-SSB are aligned and full overlap.

Fig. 5 illustrates an example of comparison between a case that CD-SSB periodic is 10ms with NCD-SSB timeoffset=5ms and a case that CD-SSB periodic is 5ms according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, with reference to Fig. 5 ( (a) and (b) ) , CD-SSB Periodic is 10ms with NCD-SSB timeoffset=5ms compare with CD-SSB periodic is 5ms. It is clear that even if the 12RBs SSB is configured for the shortest periodic, the performance will still be worse than the NCD-SSB configuration. It should be noted that in some embodiments of the present disclosure, NCD-SSB is described, but the naming of the NCD-SSB can be different for lower RB scenario.

Fig. 6 illustrates a flowchart using 15RBs NCD-SSB according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 6, in the process 600, the terminal device 110 may first search for CD-SSB (12PRBs) , to access the 3MHz network, and then may receive a configuration NCD-SSB (15PRBs) through SIB or RRC signaling for mobile network measurement after access. Specifically, at block 610, the terminal device 110 may initial detect PSS/SSS. For example, the UE searches the network PSS, SSS, gets 12RBs CD-SSB, which allows UE to then read MIB and SIB, know the size of the 3MHz bandwidth and the location of the reduced RB (e.g., 15RBs) relative to SSS/PSS. At block 620, the terminal device 110 may obtain CD-SSB index and decode PBCH based on 12RBs PBCH. At block 630, the terminal device 110 may get 15 RBs NCD-SSB configuration (i.e. the configuration information related to the NCD-SSB) by SIB or RRC. At block 640, the terminal device 110 may detect/measure NCD-SSB for intra-handover, re-selection, re-establishment, redirection, release, SDT (small data transmission) , etc.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, SSBs with different puncturing are used in the same band, and they can be used together to improve measurements of the same cell on the same frequency. In some examples, the UE receives different PRBs SSBs (e.g. 12PRBs+15PRBs) in one cell, and can (soft) combine different PRBs SSBs for measurements. In some examples, the UE receives different PRBs SSBs (e.g. 12PRBs+15PRBs) in intra-frequency neighbor cells, and can (soft) combine different PRBs SSBs for measurements. Compare to using 12PRBs SSB, better measurement performance may be implemented in many scenarios, such as handover, re-establishment, or the like.

Some simulation results may refer to Fig. 7. Fig. 7 illustrates a comparison of measurement performance for 12PRBs CD-SSB and 15PRBs NCD-SSB. As shown in Fig. 7, quantiatively this gain is between 2 and 3 dB. This should follow that less complexity could be applied once moved to the 15 PRB, increasing overall performance. Thus, as 15PRB with 1 try = performance of 12 PRB with 5 tries, by using the scheme of the embodiments of the present disclosure may obtain the same performance with reduced complexity, timing constraints (and power usage) . In Fig, 7, reference signs correspond to the numbers of tries respectively, for example, the reference sign “1” corresponds to “1 Tries” , and the reference sign “15” corresponds to “15 Tries” , etc.

Fig. 8 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a terminal device 110 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 800 will be described from the perspective of the terminal device 110 with reference to Fig. 1A.

At block 810, the terminal device 110 may receive, from the network device 120, configuration information related to at least one non-cell defining synchronization signal block (NCD-SSB) , wherein the at least one NCD-SSB includes a different number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) from a cell defining synchronization signal block (CD-SSB) . At block 820, the terminal device 110 may perform, based on the configuration information, a measurement for the at least one NCD-SSB.

In some embodiments, in order to receive the configuration information, the terminal device 110 may receive an absolute frequency of the at least one NCD-SSB.

In some embodiments, in order to receive the configuration information, the terminal device 110 may receive an offset associated with a subcarrier of the at least one NCD-SSB.

In some embodiments, the offset may be indicated based on an integer, or an enumerated value, or an absolute frequency value, or any combination thereof.

In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may calculate at least one frequency location of the at least one NCD-SSB, and based on the at least one frequency location of the at least one NCD-SSB, perform puncturing on a bandwidth associated with the at least one NCD-SSB.

In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may perform the puncturing based on a resource block (RB) level or a subcarrier level.

In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may perform the measurement by measuring the at least one NCD-SSB, or by measuring at least one SSB partial soft combined based on the CD-SSB and the at least one NCD-SSB.

In some embodiments, the CD-SSB is periodic. The terminal device 110 may, based on one or more of the at least one NCD-SSB and the CD-SSB being overlapped and being not the case that the one or more of the at least one NCD-SSB and the CD-SSB are aligned at a frequency center and being fully overlapped, discard the at least one NCD-SSB.

In some embodiments, the configuration information is received via a system information block (SIB) , or a radio resource control (RRC) message, or the combination thereof.

In some embodiments, the at least one NCD-SSB includes a first number of PRBs, and the CD-SSB includes a second number of PRBs, and the first number may be larger than the second number.

In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may be operated in a 3MHz bandwidth.

Fig. 9 shows a flowchart of an example method 900 implemented at a network device 120 in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 900 will be described from the perspective of the network device 120 with reference to Fig. 1A.

At block 910, the network device 120 may determine, for the terminal device 110, configuration information related to at least one non-cell defining synchronization signal block (NCD-SSB) . The at least one NCD-SSB includes a different number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) from a cell defining synchronization signal block (CD-SSB) . At block 920, the network device 120 may transmit, to the terminal device 110, the configuration information related to the at least one NCD-SSB.

In some embodiments, in order to transmit the configuration information, the network device 120 may transmit an absolute frequency of the at least one NCD-SSB.

In some embodiments, in order to transmit the configuration information, the network device 120 may transmit an offset associated with a subcarrier of the at least one NCD-SSB.

In some embodiments, the configuration information may be transmitted via a system information block (SIB) , or a radio resource control (RRC) message, or the combination thereof.

In some embodiments, the at least one NCD-SSB includes a first number of PRBs, and the CD-SSB includes a second number of PRBs, and the first number is larger than the second number.

In some embodiments, the CD-SSB is periodic. The network device 120 may, based on one or more of the at least one NCD-SSB and the CD-SSB being overlapped and being not the case that the one or more of the at least one NCD-SSB and the CD-SSB are aligned at a frequency center and being fully overlapped, discard the at least one NCD-SSB.

In some embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing any of the method 800 (for example, the terminal device 110) may comprise means for performing the respective steps of the method 800. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module.

In some embodiments, the apparatus comprises means for receiving, from a network device 120, configuration information related to at least one non-cell defining synchronization signal block (NCD-SSB) , wherein the at least one NCD-SSB includes a different number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) from a cell defining synchronization signal block (CD-SSB) ; and means for performing, based on the configuration information, a measurement for the at least one NCD-SSB.

In some embodiments, the means for receiving the configuration information comprises means for receiving an absolute frequency of the at least one NCD-SSB.

In some embodiments, the means for receiving the configuration information comprises means for receiving an offset associated with a subcarrier of the at least one NCD-SSB.

In some embodiments, the offset is indicated based on an integer, or an enumerated value, or an absolute frequency value, or any combination thereof.

In some embodiments, the apparatus comprises means for calculating at least one frequency location of the at least one NCD-SSB; and means for, based on the at least one frequency location of the at least one NCD-SSB, performing puncturing on a bandwidth associated with the at least one NCD-SSB.

In some embodiments, the means for performing the puncturing performs the puncturing based on a resource block (RB) level or a subcarrier level.

In some embodiments, the means for performing the measurement comprises means for measuring the at least one NCD-SSB, or means for measuring at least one SSB partial soft combined based on the CD-SSB and the at least one NCD-SSB, or both of them above.

In some embodiments, the CD-SSB is periodic. The apparatus comprises means for, based on one or more of the at least one NCD-SSB and the CD-SSB being overlapped and being not the case that the one or more of the at least one NCD-SSB and the CD-SSB are aligned at a frequency center and being fully overlapped, discarding the at least one NCD-SSB.

In some embodiments, the at least one NCD-SSB includes a first number of PRBs; and the CD-SSB includes a second number of PRBs, and the first number is larger than the second number.

In some embodiments, the apparatus is operated in a 3MHz bandwidth.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for performing other steps in some embodiments of the method 800. In some embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the performance of the apparatus.

In some embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing any of the method 900 (for example, the network device 120) may comprise means for performing the respective steps of the method 900. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module.

In some embodiments, the apparatus comprises means for determining, for a terminal device 110, configuration information related to at least one non-cell defining synchronization signal block (NCD-SSB) , wherein the at least one NCD-SSB includes a different number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) from a cell defining synchronization signal block (CD-SSB) ; and means for transmitting, to the terminal device 110, the configuration information related to the at least one NCD-SSB.

In some embodiments, the means for transmitting the configuration information comprises means for transmitting an absolute frequency of the at least one NCD-SSB.

In some embodiments, the means for transmitting the configuration information comprises means for transmitting an offset associated with a subcarrier of the at least one NCD-SSB.

In some embodiments, the offset is indicated based on an integer, or an enumerated value, or an absolute frequency value, or the combination thereof.

In some embodiments, the configuration information is transmitted via a system information block (SIB) , or a radio resource control (RRC) message, or the combination thereof.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for performing other steps in some embodiments of the method 900. In some embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the performance of the apparatus.

Fig. 10 is a simplified block diagram of a device 1000 that is suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 1000 may be provided to implement the communication device, for example the terminal device 110, the network device 120 as shown in Fig. 1A. As shown, the device 1000 includes one or more processors 1010, one or more memories 1020 coupled to the processor 1010, and one or more communication modules 1040 coupled to the processor 1010.

The communication modules 1040 is for bidirectional communications. The communication modules 1040 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 1010 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 1000 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 1020 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) 1024, 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) 1022 and other volatile memories that will not last in the power-down duration.

A computer program 1030 includes computer executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 1010. The program 1030 may be stored in the ROM 1024. The processor 1010 may perform any suitable actions and processing by loading the program 1030 into the RAM 1022.

The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by means of the program 1030 so that the device 1000 may perform any process of the disclosure as discussed with reference to Figs. 2 to 9. The embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

In some embodiments, the program 1030 may be tangibly contained in a computer readable medium which may be included in the device 1000 (such as in the memory 1020) or other storage devices that are accessible by the device 1000. The device 1000 may load the program 1030 from the computer readable medium to the RAM 1022 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. 11 shows an example of the computer readable medium 1100 in form of CD or DVD. The computer readable medium has the program 1030 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 method 800 or 900 as described above with reference to Figs. 2-9. 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. The term “non-transitory, ” as used herein, is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e.g., RAM vs. ROM) .

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 terminal device comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the terminal device at least to:

receive, from a network device, configuration information related to at least one non-cell defining synchronization signal block (NCD-SSB) , wherein the at least one NCD-SSB includes a different number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) from a cell defining synchronization signal block (CD-SSB) ; and

perform, based on the configuration information, a measurement for the at least one NCD-SSB.
The terminal device of claim 1, wherein the terminal device is caused to receive the configuration information by:

receiving an absolute frequency of the at least one NCD-SSB.
The terminal device of claim 1, wherein the terminal device is caused to receive the configuration information by:

receiving an offset associated with a subcarrier of the at least one NCD-SSB.
The terminal device of claim 3, wherein the offset is indicated based on at least one of the following:

an integer;

an enumerated value; or

an absolute frequency value.
The terminal device of any of claims 1-4, wherein the terminal device is further caused to:

calculate at least one frequency location of the at least one NCD-SSB; and

based on the at least one frequency location of the at least one NCD-SSB, perform puncturing on a bandwidth associated with the at least one NCD-SSB.
The terminal device of claim 5, wherein the terminal device is caused to perform the puncturing based on a resource block (RB) level or a subcarrier level.
The terminal device of any of claims 1-6, wherein the terminal device is caused to perform the measurement by at least one of the following:

measuring the at least one NCD-SSB; or

measuring at least one SSB partial soft combined based on the CD-SSB and the at least one NCD-SSB.
The terminal device of any of claims 1-7, wherein the CD-SSB is periodic, and the terminal device is further caused to:

based on one or more of the at least one NCD-SSB and the CD-SSB being overlapped and being not the case that the one or more of the at least one NCD-SSB and the CD-SSB are aligned at a frequency center and being fully overlapped, discard the at least one NCD-SSB.
The terminal device of any of claims 1-8, wherein the configuration information is received via at least one of the following:

a system information block (SIB) ; or

a radio resource control (RRC) message.
The terminal device of any of claims 1-9, wherein:

the at least one NCD-SSB includes a first number of PRBs; and

the CD-SSB includes a second number of PRBs, and wherein:

the first number is larger than the second number.
The terminal device of any of claims 1-10, wherein the terminal device is operated in a 3MHz bandwidth.
A network device, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network device at least to:

determine, for a terminal device, configuration information related to at least one non-cell defining synchronization signal block (NCD-SSB) , wherein the at least one NCD-SSB includes a different number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) from a cell defining synchronization signal block (CD-SSB) ; and

transmit, to the terminal device, the configuration information related to the at least one NCD-SSB.
The network device of claim 12, wherein the network device is caused to transmit the configuration information by:

transmitting an absolute frequency of the at least one NCD-SSB.
The network device of claim 12, wherein the network device is caused to transmit the configuration information by:

transmitting an offset associated with a subcarrier of the at least one NCD-SSB.
The network device of claim 14, wherein the offset is indicated based on at least one of the following:

an integer;

an enumerated value; or

an absolute frequency value.
The network device of any of claims 12-15, wherein the configuration information is transmitted via at least one of the following:

a system information block (SIB) ; or

a radio resource control (RRC) message.
The network device of any of claims 12-16, wherein:

the at least one NCD-SSB includes a first number of PRBs; and

the CD-SSB includes a second number of PRBs, and wherein:

the first number is larger than the second number.
The network device of any of claims 12-17, wherein the CD-SSB is periodic, and the network device is further caused to:

based on one or more of the at least one NCD-SSB and the CD-SSB being overlapped and being not the case that the one or more of the at least one NCD-SSB and the CD-SSB are aligned at a frequency center and being fully overlapped, discard the at least one NCD-SSB.
A method comprising:

receiving, at a terminal device and from a network device, configuration information related to at least one non-cell defining synchronization signal block (NCD-SSB) , wherein the at least one NCD-SSB includes a different number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) from a cell defining synchronization signal block (CD-SSB) ; and

performing, based on the configuration information, a measurement for the at least one NCD-SSB.
A method comprising:

determining, at a network device and for a terminal device, configuration information related to at least one non-cell defining synchronization signal block (NCD-SSB) , wherein the at least one NCD-SSB includes a different number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) from a cell defining synchronization signal block (CD-SSB) ; and

transmitting, to the terminal device, the configuration information related to the at least one NCD-SSB.
An apparatus comprising:

means for receiving, at a terminal device and from a network device, configuration information related to at least one non-cell defining synchronization signal block (NCD-SSB) , wherein the at least one NCD-SSB includes a different number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) from a cell defining synchronization signal block (CD-SSB) ; and

means for performing, based on the configuration information, a measurement for the at least one NCD-SSB.
An apparatus comprising:

means for determining, at a network device and for a terminal device, configuration information related to at least one non-cell defining synchronization signal block (NCD-SSB) , wherein the at least one NCD-SSB includes a different number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) from a cell defining synchronization signal block (CD-SSB) ; and

means for transmitting, to the terminal device, the configuration information related to the at least one NCD-SSB.
A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the method of claim 19 or 20.