WO2025035791A1

WO2025035791A1 - Invalidation of sbfd symbol

Info

Publication number: WO2025035791A1
Application number: PCT/CN2024/085682
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yuantao Zhang; Ruixiang MA; Hongmei Liu; Zhi YAN
Original assignee: Lenovo Beijing Ltd
Current assignee: Lenovo Beijing Ltd
Priority date: 2024-04-02
Filing date: 2024-04-02
Publication date: 2025-02-20
Anticipated expiration: 2026-10-02

Abstract

Various aspects of the present disclosure relate to invalidation of SBFD symbols. In an aspect, a user equipment receives, from a base station, SBFD configurations and determines at least one UL subband and at least one DL subband in at least one SBFD symbol based on the SBFD configurations. The UE determines that one of the at least one SBFD symbol is invalid based on one of the following: resources for a DL cell common signal or channel being allocated outside of the at least one DL subband in the SBFD symbol; resources for a UL cell common signal or channel being allocated outside of the at least one UL subband in the SBFD symbol; or the SBFD symbol being located after a time point, at which a maximum number of switching points associated with valid SBFD symbols is reached, within a period.

Description

INVALIDATION OF SBFD SYMBOL

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a user equipment (UE) , a base station, processors for wireless communication, methods, and non-transitory computer readable media for invalidation of subband full duplex (SBFD) symbols.

BACKGROUND

A wireless communications system may include one or multiple network communication devices, such as base stations, which may be otherwise known as an eNodeB (eNB) , a next-generation NodeB (gNB) , or other suitable terminology. Each network communication devices, such as a base station may support wireless communications for one or multiple user communication devices, which may be otherwise known as user equipment (UE) , or other suitable terminology. The wireless communications system may support wireless communications with one or multiple user communication devices by utilizing resources of the wireless communication system (e.g., time resources (e.g., symbols, slots, subframes, frames, or the like) or frequency resources (e.g., subcarriers, carriers) . Additionally, the wireless communications system may support wireless communications across various radio access technologies including third generation (3G) radio access technology, fourth generation (4G) radio access technology, fifth generation (5G) radio access technology, among other suitable radio access technologies beyond 5G (e.g., sixth generation (6G) ) .

In wireless communication systems, the term “duplex” means bidirectional communication between two devices, where the transmissions over the link in each direction may take place at the same time (i.e., full duplex) or mutual exclusive time (i.e., half duplex) . One mechanism to deploy full duplex is so called subband full duplex (SBFD) mechanism. Enhancements are still needed on the SBFD mechanism, especially on techniques related to the validation of SBFD symbols.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates to methods, apparatuses, and systems that support invalidation of SBFD symbols. By determining invalid SBFD symbols based on resource allocation on SBFD symbols or the number of switching points, the invalid SBFD symbols are identified. In this way, operations on the identified invalid SBFD symbols may be further configured or defined and a scheme related to invalid SBFD symbols may thus be designed.

In a first aspect of the solution, a UE receives, from a base station, subband full duplex (SBFD) configurations and determines at least one uplink (UL) subband and at least one downlink (DL) subband in at least one SBFD symbol based on the SBFD configurations. The UE may determine that one of the at least one SBFD symbol is invalid based on that resources for a DL cell common signal or channel is allocated outside of the at least one DL subband in the SBFD symbol. Alternatively, the UE may determine that one of the at least one SBFD symbol is invalid based on that resources for a UL cell common signal or channel is allocated outside of the at least one UL subband in the SBFD symbol. Alternatively, the UE may determine that one of the at least one SBFD symbol is invalid based on that the SBFD symbol is located after a time point, at which a maximum number of switching points associated with valid SBFD symbols is reached, within a period. In this way, invalid SBFD symbols may be determined and a scheme related to invalid SBFD symbols may be designed.

In some implementations of the method and apparatuses described herein, the UL cell common signal or channel may include a random access channel (RACH) .

In some implementations of the method and apparatuses described herein, the DL cell common signal or channels may include a control resource set (CORESET) for type-0 search space set.

In some implementations of the method and apparatuses described herein, the DL cell common signal or channels may include a synchronization signal block and physical broadcast channel (SS/PBCH) block.

In some implementations of the method and apparatuses described herein, the switching points associated with valid SBFD symbols may include both first switching points from a valid SBFD symbol to a non-SBFD symbol or an invalid SBFD symbol and second switching points from a non-SBFD symbol or an invalid SBFD symbol to a valid SBFD symbol.

Some implementations of the method and apparatuses described herein may further include: counting a number of first switching points from a valid SBFD symbol to a non-SBFD symbol or an invalid SBFD symbol within the period; counting a number of second switching points from a non-SBFD symbol or an invalid SBFD symbol to a valid SBFD symbol within the period; and determining that a maximum number of switching points associated with valid SBFD symbols within the period is reached in the case that the number of the first switching points reaches a first maximum number or the number of the second switching points reaches a second maximum number.

In some implementations of the method and apparatuses described herein, the switching points associated with valid SBFD symbols may include first switching points from a valid SBFD symbol to a non-SBFD symbol or an invalid SBFD symbol.

In some implementations of the method and apparatuses described herein, the switching points associated with valid SBFD symbols may include second switching points from a non-SBFD symbol or an invalid SBFD symbol to a valid SBFD symbol.

In some implementations of the method and apparatuses described herein, the switching points associated with valid SBFD symbols may include switching points from a valid SBFD symbol to one of the following: an UL symbol or a first flexible symbol. Alternatively or additionally, the switching points associated with valid SBFD symbols may include switching points from a valid SBFD symbol to one of the following: a first DL symbol, a second DL symbol, or a second flexible symbol. Alternatively or additionally, the switching points associated with valid SBFD symbols may include switching points from one of the following to a valid SBFD symbol: an UL symbol or a first flexible symbol. Alternatively or additionally, the switching points associated with valid SBFD symbols may include switching points from one of the following to a valid SBFD symbol: a first DL symbol, a second DL symbol, or a second flexible symbol. The first DL symbol is a non-SBFD symbol. The second DL symbol is determined as an invalid SBFD symbol. The first flexible symbol is determined as an invalid SBFD symbol and allocated with resources for UL signals or channels. The second flexible symbol is determined as an invalid SBFD symbol and allocated with resources for DL signals or channels.

In some implementations of the method and apparatuses described herein, antenna configurations of an invalid SBFD symbol for reception chains at the network device are unchanged compared to antenna configurations of valid SBFD symbols for reception chains at the network device. Alternatively or additionally, antenna configurations of an invalid SBFD symbol for transmission chains at the network device are unchanged compared to antenna configurations of valid SBFD symbols for transmission chains at the network device.

In some implementations of the method and apparatuses described herein, a switching is not needed between a valid SBFD symbol and an invalid SBFD symbol.

In some implementations of the method and apparatuses described herein, the period may include at least one time division duplex (TDD) UL-DL pattern periods.

In some implementations of the method and apparatuses described herein, in the case that the SBFD symbol is determined as the invalid SBFD symbol, only one of resources for DL transmissions or resources for UL transmissions is allocated in the SBFD symbol.

In some implementations of the method and apparatuses described herein, the at least one SBFD symbol is configured in at least one SBFD flexible symbol.

In a second aspect of the solution, a base station transmits, to a user equipment (UE) , subband full duplex (SBFD) configurations. The base station determines at least one uplink (UL) subband and at least one downlink (DL) subband in at least one SBFD symbol based on the SBFD configurations. The base station may determine that one of the at least one SBFD symbol is invalid based on that resources for a DL cell common signal or channel is allocated outside of the at least one DL subband in the SBFD symbol. Alternatively, the base station may determine that one of the at least one SBFD symbol is invalid based on that resources for a UL cell common signal or channel is allocated outside of the at least one UL subband in the SBFD symbol. Alternatively, the base station may determine that one of the at least one SBFD symbol is invalid based on that the SBFD symbol is located after a time point, at which a maximum number of switching points associated with valid SBFD symbols is reached, within a period. In this way, invalid SBFD symbols may be determined and a scheme related to invalid SBFD symbols may be designed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A illustrates an example of a wireless communications system that supports invalidation of SBFD symbols in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1B illustrates an example of an UL/DL subband allocation in a TDD frame structure that supports invalidation of SBFD symbols in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1C illustrates an example of different antenna configurations utilized in SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols that supports invalidation of SBFD symbols in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example signaling chart of a communication process that supports invalidation of SBFD symbols in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3A illustrates an example of determining invalid SBFD symbols in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3B illustrates another example of determining invalid SBFD symbols in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4A illustrates an example of switching points between valid SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols in a TDD frame structure without invalid SBFD symbols.

FIG. 4B illustrates an example of additional switching points incurred by invalid SBFD symbols.

FIG. 5A illustrates an example of determining invalid SBFD symbols based on respective maximum numbers of switching points for each of the two switching directions in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5B illustrates another example of determining invalid SBFD symbols based on respective maximum numbers of switching points for each of the two switching directions in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5C illustrates an example of antenna configurations utilized in different symbols in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a TDD frame structure with invalid SBFD symbols in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a device that supports invalidation of SBFD symbols in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates an examples of a processor that supports invalidation of SBFD symbols in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 9 through 10 illustrate flowcharts of methods that support invalidation of SBFD symbols in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

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

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some 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 may 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 example embodiment, ” “an embodiment, ” “some embodiments, ” and the like indicate that the embodiment (s) 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 do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment (s) . 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” or the like 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 element. For example, a first element could also be termed as a second element, and similarly, a second element could also be termed as a first element, without departing from the scope of 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. For example, the term “includes” and its variants are to be read as open terms that mean “includes, but is not limited to. ” The term “based on” is to be read as “based at least in part on. ” The term “one embodiment” and “an embodiment” are to be read as “at least one embodiment. ” The term “another embodiment” is to be read as “at least one other embodiment. ” The use of an expression such as “A and/or B” can mean either “only A” or “only B” or “both A and B. ” Other definitions, explicit and implicit, may be included below.

As used herein, the term “communication network” refers to a network following any suitable communication standards, such as, 5G NR, 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. Further, 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 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 also be future type communication technologies and systems in which the present disclosure may be embodied. It should not be seen as limiting the scope of the present disclosure to only the aforementioned systems.

As used herein, the term “network device” generally refers to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device can access the communication network and receive 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) , a radio access network (RAN) node, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB) , an NR NB (also referred to as a gNB) , a remote radio unit (RRU) , a radio header (RH) , an infrastructure device for a V2X (vehicle-to-everything) communication, a transmission and reception point (TRP) , a reception point (RP) , a remote radio head (RRH) , a relay, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a low power node such as a femto BS, a pico BS, and so forth, depending on the applied terminology and technology.

As used herein, the term “terminal device” generally refers to any end device that may be capable of wireless communications. By way of example rather than a limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, a user equipment (UE) , an end user device, a subscriber station (SS) , an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) , a portable subscriber station, a mobile station (MS) , or an access terminal (AT) . The terminal device may include, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a tablet, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA) , a portable computer, a desktop computer, an image capture terminal device such as a digital camera, a gaming terminal device, a music storage and playback appliance, a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE) , laptop-mounted equipment (LME) , a USB dongle, a smart device, 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 (for example, a remote surgery device) , an industrial device (for example, 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.

In legacy full duplex transceiver, different carriers are employed for each link direction. For example, for a UE in a FDD system, the UL transmission and DL reception are performed in an UL carrier and a DL carrier respectively. Recently, more advanced full duplex transceiver enables simultaneous transmission and reception on a same carrier, which has potential to double the link throughput. Besides, transmission latency is also reduced thanks to bidirectional transmission simultaneously. However, simultaneous DL and UL in a same carrier might produce self-interference. For example, for full duplex transceiver employed in BS side, the DL transmission might interfere the UL reception; while for full duplex in the UE side, the UL transmission might interfere DL reception. From implementation point of view, self-interference can be easier mitigated in BS side than in UE side since more space is available in BS side to enable separated transmission/reception (Tx/Rx) antenna branches for self-interference mitigation. Besides, more advanced receiver can be adopted in the BS side, which is fundamental for self-interference cancellation.

As mentioned above, one mechanism to deploy full duplex in BS side is the so called SBFD mechanism. As used herein, the term “SBFD-aware UE” refers to a UE knowing the full duplex capability in the BS side. For SBFD-aware UEs, for the transmission and reception in the SBFD symbols configured in DL and/or flexible in TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon (which is a signaling transmitted in system information block) , UL transmissions within UL usable PRBs are allowed; DL receptions within DL usable PRBs are allowed; UL transmissions outside UL usable PRBs are not allowed; DL receptions outside DL usable PRBs are not allowed which restriction is not applicable for CLI measurement.

For RRC connected mode UEs, SBFD subband time locations are configured within a period. At least when only one TDD-UL-DL pattern is configured, the period is down-selected from option 1 or option 2. In option 1, the period is the same as TDD-UL-DL pattern period configured by dl-UL-TransmissionPeriodicity in TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon. In option 2, the period is integer multiple of TDD-UL-DL pattern period configured by dl-UL-TransmissionPeriodicity in TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon.

In SBFD, in order to avoid frequent switching between SBFD and non-SBFD symbols, potential limitation on the maximum number of transition points between SBFD and non-SBFD symbols can be considered from SBFD subband configuration perspective to reduce the complexity in the base station and the UE..

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide solutions to determine invalid SBFD symbols. In an aspect of the solution, invalid SBFD symbols may be determined based on resource allocation on SBFD symbols or the number of switching points. In this way, operations on the determined invalid SBFD symbols may be further configured or defined and a scheme related to invalid SBFD symbols may thus be designed. Aspects of the present disclosure are described in the context of a wireless communications system.

FIG. 1A illustrates an example of a wireless communications system 100 that supports invalidation of SBFD symbols in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communications system 100 may include one or more network entities 102 (also referred to as network equipment (NE) ) , one or more UEs 104, a core network 106, and a packet data network 108. The wireless communications system 100 may support various radio access technologies. In some implementations, the wireless communications system 100 may be a 4G network, such as an LTE network or an LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) network. In some other implementations, the wireless communications system 100 may be a 5G network, such as an NR network. In other implementations, the wireless communications system 100 may be a combination of a 4G network and a 5G network, or other suitable radio access technology including Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi) , IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX) , IEEE 802.20. The wireless communications system 100 may support radio access technologies beyond 5G. Additionally, the wireless communications system 100 may support technologies, such as time division multiple access (TDMA) , frequency division multiple access (FDMA) , or code division multiple access (CDMA) , etc.

The one or more network entities 102 may be dispersed throughout a geographic region to form the wireless communications system 100. One or more of the network entities 102 described herein may be or include or may be referred to as a network node, a base station, a network element, a radio access network (RAN) , a base transceiver station, an access point, a NodeB, an eNodeB (eNB) , a next-generation NodeB (gNB) , or other suitable terminology. A network entity 102 and a UE 104 may communicate via a communication link 110, which may be a wireless or wired connection. For example, a network entity 102 and a UE 104 may perform wireless communication (e.g., receive signaling, transmit signaling) over a Uu interface.

A network entity 102 may provide a geographic coverage area 112 for which the network entity 102 may support services (e.g., voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, etc. ) for one or more UEs 104 within the geographic coverage area 112. For example, a network entity 102 and a UE 104 may support wireless communication of signals related to services (e.g., voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, etc. ) according to one or multiple radio access technologies. In some implementations, a network entity 102 may be moveable, for example, a satellite associated with a non-terrestrial network. In some implementations, different geographic coverage areas 112 associated with the same or different radio access technologies may overlap, but the different geographic coverage areas 112 may be associated with different network entities 102. Information and signals described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

The one or more UEs 104 may be dispersed throughout a geographic region of the wireless communications system 100. A UE 104 may include or may be referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a remote unit, a handheld device, or a subscriber device, or some other suitable terminology. In some implementations, the UE 104 may be referred to as a unit, a station, a terminal, or a client, among other examples. Additionally, or alternatively, the UE 104 may be referred to as an Internet-of-Things (IoT) device, an Internet-of-Everything (IoE) device, or machine-type communication (MTC) device, among other examples. In some implementations, a UE 104 may be stationary in the wireless communications system 100. In some other implementations, a UE 104 may be mobile in the wireless communications system 100.

The one or more UEs 104 may be devices in different forms or having different capabilities. Some examples of UEs 104 are illustrated in FIG. 1A. A UE 104 may be capable of communicating with various types of devices, such as the network entities 102, other UEs 104, or network equipment (e.g., the core network 106, the packet data network 108, a relay device, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, or another network equipment) , as shown in FIG. 1A. Additionally, or alternatively, a UE 104 may support communication with other network entities 102 or UEs 104, which may act as relays in the wireless communications system 100.

A UE 104 may also be able to support wireless communication directly with other UEs 104 over a communication link 114. For example, a UE 104 may support wireless communication directly with another UE 104 over a device-to-device (D2D) communication link. In some implementations, such as vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) deployments, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) deployments, or cellular-V2X deployments, the communication link 114 may be referred to as a sidelink. For example, a UE 104 may support wireless communication directly with another UE 104 over a PC5 interface.

A network entity 102 may support communications with the core network 106, or with another network entity 102, or both. For example, a network entity 102 may interface with the core network 106 through one or more backhaul links 116 (e.g., via an S1, N2, N2, or another network interface) . The network entities 102 may communicate with each other over the backhaul links 116 (e.g., via an X2, Xn, or another network interface) . In some implementations, the network entities 102 may communicate with each other directly (e.g., between the network entities 102) . In some other implementations, the network entities 102 may communicate with each other or indirectly (e.g., via the core network 106) . In some implementations, one or more network entities 102 may include subcomponents, such as an access network entity, which may be an example of an access node controller (ANC) . An ANC may communicate with the one or more UEs 104 through one or more other access network transmission entities, which may be referred to as a radio heads, smart radio heads, or transmission-reception points (TRPs) .

In some implementations, a network entity 102 may be configured in a disaggregated architecture, which may be configured to utilize a protocol stack physically or logically distributed among two or more network entities 102, such as an integrated access backhaul (IAB) network, an open RAN (O-RAN) (e.g., a network configuration sponsored by the O-RAN Alliance) , or a virtualized RAN (vRAN) (e.g., a cloud RAN (C-RAN) ) . For example, a network entity 102 may include one or more of a central unit (CU) , a distributed unit (DU) , a radio unit (RU) , a RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) (e.g., a Near-Real Time RIC (Near-RT RIC) , a Non-Real Time RIC (Non-RT RIC) ) , a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) system, or any combination thereof.

An RU may also be referred to as a radio head, a smart radio head, a remote radio head (RRH) , a remote radio unit (RRU) , or a transmission reception point (TRP) . One or more components of the network entities 102 in a disaggregated RAN architecture may be co-located, or one or more components of the network entities 102 may be located in distributed locations (e.g., separate physical locations) . In some implementations, one or more network entities 102 of a disaggregated RAN architecture may be implemented as virtual units (e.g., a virtual CU (VCU) , a virtual DU (VDU) , a virtual RU (VRU) ) .

Split of functionality between a CU, a DU, and an RU may be flexible and may support different functionalities depending upon which functions (e.g., network layer functions, protocol layer functions, baseband functions, radio frequency functions, and any combinations thereof) are performed at a CU, a DU, or an RU. For example, a functional split of a protocol stack may be employed between a CU and a DU such that the CU may support one or more layers of the protocol stack and the DU may support one or more different layers of the protocol stack. In some implementations, the CU may host upper protocol layer (e.g., a layer 3 (L3) , a layer 2 (L2) ) functionality and signaling (e.g., Radio Resource Control (RRC) , service data adaption protocol (SDAP) , Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) ) . The CU may be connected to one or more DUs or RUs, and the one or more DUs or RUs may host lower protocol layers, such as a layer 1 (L1) (e.g., physical (PHY) layer) or an L2 (e.g., radio link control (RLC) layer, medium access control (MAC) layer) functionality and signaling, and may each be at least partially controlled by the CU 160.

Additionally, or alternatively, a functional split of the protocol stack may be employed between a DU and an RU such that the DU may support one or more layers of the protocol stack and the RU may support one or more different layers of the protocol stack. The DU may support one or multiple different cells (e.g., via one or more RUs) . In some implementations, a functional split between a CU and a DU, or between a DU and an RU may be within a protocol layer (e.g., some functions for a protocol layer may be performed by one of a CU, a DU, or an RU, while other functions of the protocol layer are performed by a different one of the CU, the DU, or the RU) .

A CU may be functionally split further into CU control plane (CU-CP) and CU user plane (CU-UP) functions. A CU may be connected to one or more DUs via a midhaul communication link (e.g., F1, F1-c, F1-u) , and a DU may be connected to one or more RUs via a fronthaul communication link (e.g., open fronthaul (FH) interface) . In some implementations, a midhaul communication link or a fronthaul communication link may be implemented in accordance with an interface (e.g., a channel) between layers of a protocol stack supported by respective network entities 102 that are in communication via such communication links.

The core network 106 may support user authentication, access authorization, tracking, connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The core network 106 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) , or a 5G core (5GC) , which may include a control plane entity that manages access and mobility (e.g., a mobility management entity (MME) , an access and mobility management functions (AMF) ) and a user plane entity that routes packets or interconnects to external networks (e.g., a serving gateway (S-GW) , a Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway (P-GW) , or a user plane function (UPF) ) . In some implementations, the control plane entity may manage non-access stratum (NAS) functions, such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management (e.g., data bearers, signal bearers, etc. ) for the one or more UEs 104 served by the one or more network entities 102 associated with the core network 106.

The core network 106 may communicate with the packet data network 108 over one or more backhaul links 116 (e.g., via an S1, N2, N2, or another network interface) . The packet data network 108 may include an application server 118. In some implementations, one or more UEs 104 may communicate with the application server 118. A UE 104 may establish a session (e.g., a protocol data unit (PDU) session, or the like) with the core network 106 via a network entity 102. The core network 106 may route traffic (e.g., control information, data, and the like) between the UE 104 and the application server 118 using the established session (e.g., the established PDU session) . The PDU session may be an example of a logical connection between the UE 104 and the core network 106 (e.g., one or more network functions of the core network 106) .

In the wireless communications system 100, the network entities 102 and the UEs 104 may use resources of the wireless communications system 100 (e.g., time resources (e.g., symbols, slots, subframes, frames, or the like) or frequency resources (e.g., subcarriers, carriers) ) to perform various operations (e.g., wireless communications) . In some implementations, the network entities 102 and the UEs 104 may support different resource structures. For example, the network entities 102 and the UEs 104 may support different frame structures. In some implementations, such as in 4G, the network entities 102 and the UEs 104 may support a single frame structure. In some other implementations, such as in 5G and among other suitable radio access technologies, the network entities 102 and the UEs 104 may support various frame structures (i.e., multiple frame structures) . The network entities 102 and the UEs 104 may support various frame structures based on one or more numerologies.

One or more numerologies may be supported in the wireless communications system 100, and a numerology may include a subcarrier spacing and a cyclic prefix. A first numerology (e.g., μ=0) may be associated with a first subcarrier spacing (e.g., 15 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix. In some implementations, the first numerology (e.g., μ=0) associated with the first subcarrier spacing (e.g., 15 kHz) may utilize one slot per subframe. A second numerology (e.g., μ=1) may be associated with a second subcarrier spacing (e.g., 30 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix. A third numerology (e.g., μ=2) may be associated with a third subcarrier spacing (e.g., 60 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix or an extended cyclic prefix. A fourth numerology (e.g., μ=3) may be associated with a fourth subcarrier spacing (e.g., 120 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix. A fifth numerology (e.g., μ=4) may be associated with a fifth subcarrier spacing (e.g., 240 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix.

A time interval of a resource (e.g., a communication resource) may be organized according to frames (also referred to as radio frames) . Each frame may have a duration, for example, a 10 millisecond (ms) duration. In some implementations, each frame may include multiple subframes. For example, each frame may include 10 subframes, and each subframe may have a duration, for example, a 1 ms duration. In some implementations, each frame may have the same duration. In some implementations, each subframe of a frame may have the same duration.

Additionally or alternatively, a time interval of a resource (e.g., a communication resource) may be organized according to slots. For example, a subframe may include a number (e.g., quantity) of slots. The number of slots in each subframe may also depend on the one or more numerologies supported in the wireless communications system 100. For instance, the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth numerologies (i.e., μ=0, μ=1, μ=2, μ=3, μ=4) associated with respective subcarrier spacings of 15 kHz, 30 kHz, 60 kHz, 120 kHz, and 240 kHz may utilize a single slot per subframe, two slots per subframe, four slots per subframe, eight slots per subframe, and 16 slots per subframe, respectively. Each slot may include a number (e.g., quantity) of symbols (e.g., OFDM symbols) . In some implementations, the number (e.g., quantity) of slots for a subframe may depend on a numerology. For a normal cyclic prefix, a slot may include 14 symbols. For an extended cyclic prefix (e.g., applicable for 60 kHz subcarrier spacing) , a slot may include 12 symbols. The relationship between the number of symbols per slot, the number of slots per subframe, and the number of slots per frame for a normal cyclic prefix and an extended cyclic prefix may depend on a numerology. It should be understood that reference to a first numerology (e.g., μ=0) associated with a first subcarrier spacing (e.g., 15 kHz) may be used interchangeably between subframes and slots.

In the wireless communications system 100, an electromagnetic (EM) spectrum may be split, based on frequency or wavelength, into various classes, frequency bands, frequency channels, etc. By way of example, the wireless communications system 100 may support one or multiple operating frequency bands, such as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz –7.125 GHz) , FR2 (24.25 GHz –52.6 GHz) , FR3 (7.125 GHz –24.25 GHz) , FR4 (52.6 GHz –114.25 GHz) , FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz –71 GHz) , and FR5 (114.25 GHz –300 GHz) . In some implementations, the network entities 102 and the UEs 104 may perform wireless communications over one or more of the operating frequency bands. In some implementations, FR1 may be used by the network entities 102 and the UEs 104, among other equipment or devices for cellular communications traffic (e.g., control information, data) . In some implementations, FR2 may be used by the network entities 102 and the UEs 104, among other equipment or devices for short-range, high data rate capabilities.

FR1 may be associated with one or multiple numerologies (e.g., at least three numerologies) . For example, FR1 may be associated with a first numerology (e.g., μ=0) , which includes 15 kHz subcarrier spacing; a second numerology (e.g., μ=1) , which includes 30 kHz subcarrier spacing; and a third numerology (e.g., μ=2) , which includes 60 kHz subcarrier spacing. FR2 may be associated with one or multiple numerologies (e.g., at least 2 numerologies) . For example, FR2 may be associated with a third numerology (e.g., μ=2) , which includes 60 kHz subcarrier spacing; and a fourth numerology (e.g., μ=3) , which includes 120 kHz subcarrier spacing.

FIG. 1B illustrates an example 120 of an UL/DL subband allocation in a TDD frame structure that supports invalidation of SBFD symbols in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. It is noted that the UL/DL subband allocation in a TDD frame structure in FIG. 1B is merely for illustration, and not for limitation. Embodiments of the present disclosure may apply to other UL/DL subband allocations.

As shown in FIG. 1B, an UL subband is allocated in a TDD carrier, on the DL OFDM symbols and/or the flexible OFDM symbols configured by a TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon signaling. The TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon signaling defines the uplink and downlink configuration for a TDD system and is carried system information block. Such symbols (i.e., the DL symbols and/or the flexible symbols allocated with an UL subband) are named as SBFD symbols. In SBFD symbols, the physical resources outside of UL subband is named as DL subband (s) . In a SBFD symbol, DL signals/channels and UL signals/channels can be scheduled in the symbol simultaneously. The UL subband is configured in the DL symbols and/or flexible symbols in each TDD UL-DL pattern period. In the following description, the term “SBFD DL symbol” refers to a DL symbol allocated with an UL subband and DL subband (s) , and may be used interchangeably with the terms “DL SBFD symbol” “SBFD symbol configured on a DL symbol” or “SBFD symbol on a DL symbol” . In the following description, the term “SBFD flexible symbol” refers to a flexible symbol allocated with an UL subband and DL subband (s) , and may be used interchangeably with the terms “flexible SBFD symbol” “SBFD symbol configured on a flexible symbol” or “SBFD symbol on a flexible symbol” . In the following description, the term “non-SBFD symbol” refers to a legacy flexible/DL/UL symbol, such as a UL symbol in which only UL signals/channels can be scheduled, a DL symbol without UL subband allocation in which only DL signals/channels can be scheduled, or a flexible symbol in which only DL signals/channels or only UL signals/channels can be scheduled.

For both SBFD symbols on DL symbols and/or flexible symbols configured by TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon, the behavior of a SBFD-aware UE in the SBFD symbols is as following: UL transmission with UL subband is allowed; UL transmission outside of UL subband is not allowed; DL reception within DL subband is allowed; and DL reception outside of DL subband is not allowed. The gNB side behavior is expected to be similar. In SBFD symbols, the DL signals/channels are always scheduled in the DL subband and the UL signals/channels are scheduled in the UL subband.

In addition, some efforts might be needed to switch between SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols. For example, if the antenna configuration in gNB side is different for SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols, the gNB needs some efforts to switch between different antenna configurations. Frequent switching between SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols should be avoided to reduce the additional complexity due to the switching.

FIG. 1C illustrates an example of different antenna configurations utilized in SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols. It is noted that the antenna configurations utilized in SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols in FIG. 1C is merely for illustration, and not for limitation. Embodiments of the present disclosure may apply to other antenna configurations utilized in SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols.

As shown in FIG. 1C, antenna configuration #1 is used for SBFD symbols and antenna configuration #2 is used for non-SBFD UL symbols, e.g., the UL symbols in FIG. 1B. In a SBFD symbol, a panel group #1 with L antenna elements of the gNB could be used for DL transmission and a panel group #2 with another L antenna elements of the gNB could be used for UL reception. In an UL symbol, the panel group #1 with L antenna elements could be used for UL reception. Thus, the gNB needs some efforts to switch between the antenna configuration #1 and the antenna configuration #2 at time points between a SBFD symbol and an UL symbol. Such time points may be referred to as “switching points” . In the following description, the terms “switching point” and “transition point” may be used interchangeably. In SBFD discussions, it has been considered to define a maximum number of switching points between SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols within a period to prevent frequent switching.

According to the 5G NR technical specification (TS38.213) , if cell common UL (or DL) channels/signals are configured in the flexible symbols, these symbols cannot be indicated as DL (or UL) by either UE-specific signaling or cell-common signaling.

As one example, if ROs are configured in the flexible symbols, these symbols cannot be changed to downlink symbols by either UE specific signaling or cell common signaling. As specified in TS38.213, for a set of symbols of a slot corresponding to a valid PRACH occasion and N_gap symbols before the valid PRACH occasion, the UE does not expect the set of symbols of the slot to be indicated as downlink by tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon or tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationDedicated. For a set of symbols of a slot corresponding to a valid PRACH occasion and N_gap symbols before the valid PRACH occasion, the UE does not expect to detect a DCI format 2_0 with an SFI-index field value indicating the set of symbols of the slot as downlink.

As another example, if CORESET#0 is configured in the flexible symbols, these symbols cannot be changed to uplink symbols by either UE specific signaling or cell common signaling. For a set of symbols of a slot indicated to a UE by pdcch-ConfigSIB1 in MIB for a CORESET for Type0-PDCCH CSS set, the UE does not expect the set of symbols to be indicated as uplink by tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon, or tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationDedicated. For a set of symbols of a slot indicated to a UE by pdcch-ConfigSIB1 in MIB for a CORESET for Type0-PDCCH CSS set, the UE does not expect to detect a DCI format 2_0 with an SFI-index field value indicating the set of symbols of the slot as uplink.

In some cases, ROs may be configured in the flexible symbols, which are available for both non-SBFD-aware UEs and SBFD-aware UEs for random access purpose. The UE may transmit PRACH in these ROs. If the flexible symbols are indicated as SBFD symbols and the ROs are configured to be outside of the UL subband, the PRACH transmission in these ROs is not aligned with the principle that UL transmission in the UL subband is allowed only in the SBFD symbols and UL transmission outside UL subband is not allowed.

Similarly, in some cases the SBFD-aware UEs may need to camp CORESET#0 to receive DCI, e.g., to receive scheduling information for updated SIB1. If CORESET#0 is configured in flexible symbols and fall outside of DL subband, receiving DCI in CORESET#0 violates the principle that DL reception in DL subband is allowed only in the SBFD symbols and DL reception outside of DL subband is not allowed.

Such issues may be avoided relying on resource allocation, e.g., always allocating legacy ROs within UL subband. However, this is too restrictive from resource allocation point of view. In addition, allocating ROs in the UL subband may lead to more interference for PRACH reception, which impacts the PRACH coverage.

Reference is now made to FIG. 2, which illustrates an example signaling chart of a communication process 200 that supports invalidation of SBFD symbols in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the process 200 will be described with reference to FIG. 1A. The process 200 may involve the UE 104 and the base station 102. It is to be understood that the steps and the order of the steps in FIG. 2 are merely for illustration, and not for limitation. It is to be understood that process 200 may further include additional blocks not shown and/or omit some shown blocks, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

As shown in FIG. 2, the base station 102 transmits (201) SBFD configurations 202 to the UE 104. Accordingly, the UE 104 receives (203) the SBFD configurations 202 from the base station 102. The UE determines (204) at least one UL subband and at least one DL subband in at least one SBFD symbol based on the SBFD configurations 202. In some embodiments, the at least one SBFD symbol is configured in at least one SBFD flexible symbol. Alternatively, the at least one SBFD symbol is configured in at least one SBFD DL symbol. Alternatively, the at least one SBFD symbol is configured in at least one SBFD DL symbol and at least one SBFD flexible symbol.

The UE 104 determines (205) that one of the at least one SBFD symbol is invalid. In some embodiments, if the SBFD symbol is determined as an invalid SBFD symbol, only one of resources for DL transmissions or resources for UL transmissions is allocated in the SBFD symbol. In other words, if a SBFD symbol is determined as an invalid SBFD symbol, the symbol may be treated as a non-SBFD symbol by the UE 104 and the base station 102. That is, the SBFD-aware UE may assume that either DL or UL signals/channels can be scheduled in the symbol, but not simultaneously DL and UL signals/channels. For example, if a SBFD flexible symbol is determined as an invalid SBFD symbol, the symbol may be treated as a non-SBFD flexible symbol by the UE 104 and the base station 102. The SBFD-aware UE may assume that either DL signals/channels or UL signals/channels can be scheduled in the invalid SBFD symbol, but not simultaneously DL signals/channels and UL signals/channels. In another example, if a SBFD DL symbol is determined as an invalid SBFD symbol, the symbol may be treated as a non-SBFD DL symbol by the UE 104 and the base station 102. That is, the SBFD-aware UE may assume that only DL signals/channels can be scheduled in the invalid SBFD symbol. Similarly, the base station 102 determines (206) at least one UL subband and at least one DL subband in at least one SBFD symbol in a similar manner as the determination (204) by the UE 104. The base station 102 determines (207) that one of the at least one SBFD symbol is invalid in a similar manner as the determination (205) by the UE 104. The base station and the SBFD-aware UE may have the same understanding on the format (e.g., SBFD format or non-SBFD format) of the symbol and the validation or invalidation of the SBFD symbols. The determination (205) may be performed in various manners.

In some embodiments, if resources for a DL cell common signal or channel are allocated outside of the at least one DL subband in one of the at least one SBFD symbol, the UE 104 determines (205) that the SBFD symbol is invalid. In some embodiments, the DL cell common signal or channel may include a control resource set (CORESET) for type-0 search space set. Alternatively, the DL cell common signal or channel may include a SS/PBCH block. Other DL cell common signals or channels are also possible.

In some embodiments, if resources for a UL cell common signal or channel are allocated outside of the at least one UL subband in one of the at least one SBFD symbol, the UE 104 determines (205) that the SBFD symbol is invalid. In some embodiments, the UL cell common signal or channel may include a random access channel (RACH) . Other UL cell common signals or channels are also possible.

For example, for a SBFD symbol configured on a flexible symbol (e.g., indicated by TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon) , the UE 104 may determine the symbol as an invalid SBFD symbol if resources for UL cell common signals/channels are allocated outside of the UL subband in the symbol or resources for DL cell common signals/channels are allocated outside of the DL subband in the symbol. In another example, for a SBFD symbol configured on a DL symbol (e.g., indicated by TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon) , the UE 104 may determine the symbol as an invalid SBFD symbol if resources for DL cell common signals/channels are allocated outside of the DL subband in the symbol.

As one example, for a set of flexible symbols indicated as SBFD symbols, if RO(s) for non-SBFD-aware UEs are configured in the symbols, then the UE may determine the symbols as invalid SBFD symbols if RO (s) are partially or fully fall outside of the UL subband. FIG. 3A illustrates an example 300A of determining invalid SBFD symbols in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3A, ROs are located outside of the UL subband and are available for SBFD-aware UEs for PRACH transmission, then the SBFD symbols overlapped with the ROs resources are invalid SBFD symbols.

As another example, for a set of flexible symbols or DL symbols indicated as SBFD symbols, if CORESET for type-0 search space set (i.e., CORESET#0) is configured in the symbols, the UE may determine the symbols as invalid SBFD symbols if the CORESET partially or fully falls outside of the DL subband. FIG. 3B illustrates another example 300B of determining invalid SBFD symbols in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3B, CORESET#0 is partially located outside of the DL subband, then the SBFD symbols overlapped with CORESET#0 are invalid SBFD symbols.

As a further example, for a set of flexible symbols or DL symbols indicated as SBFD symbols, if a SS/PBCH block is configured in the symbols, the UE may determine the symbols as invalid SBFD symbols if SSB partially or fully falls outside of the DL subband.

With the above embodiments, if UL cell common signals or channels fall outside of the UL subband, then the SBFD symbols overlapped with the UL cell common signals or channels are invalid SBFD symbols; if DL cell common signals or channels fall outside of the DL subband, then the SBFD symbols overlapped with the DL cell common signals or channels are invalid SBFD symbols.

In addition, there is another case where ROs for non-SBFD-aware UEs are not configured in the active UL BWP, but there are ROs configured in the UL subband, which is associated with or within the active UL BWP. These ROs are dedicated for SBFD-aware UEs for random access purpose. In this case, different with non-SBFD-aware UEs which should switch to another UL BWP with configured ROs, e.g., initial UL BWP, to perform random access, the SBFD-aware UEs do not need to perform BWP switching and they could perform random access in the dedicated ROs configured in the UL subband.

Invalidation of a set of SBFD symbols may result in switching points between valid SBFD symbols and non-SBFD or invalid SBFD symbols, thus increasing the number of switching points. In some cases, the invalidation of a set of SBFD symbols may result in an increased number of switching points bigger than the predefined/configured maximum number of switching points within a period.

FIG. 4A illustrates an example 400A of switching points between valid SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols in a TDD frame structure without invalid SBFD symbols. As shown in FIG. 4A, with all the SBFD symbols being valid SBFD symbols, there are two switching points within a TDD UL-DL pattern period. The first switching point is from SBFD symbols to non-SBFD symbols (UL symbols) and the second switching point is from non-SBFD symbols to SBFD symbols. FIG. 4B illustrates an example 400B of additional switching points incurred by invalid SBFD symbols. As shown in FIG. 4B, with the determined invalid symbols due to overlapping with ROs outside of the UL subband, four switching points are needed within the TDD UL-DL pattern period. The first point is from valid SBFD symbols to invalid SBFD symbols, the second point is from invalid SBFD symbols to valid SBFD symbols, the third point is from valid SBFD symbols to non-SBFD symbols (UL symbols) and the fourth point is from non-SBFD symbols to valid SBFD symbols. Two additional switching points are incurred by the invalid SBFD symbols in the example 400B. Thus, additional efforts might be needed for the base station to switch between different antenna configurations.

Considering the above scenario, returning back to FIG. 2, in some embodiments, if one of the at least one SBFD symbol is located after a time point, at which a maximum number of switching points associated with valid SBFD symbols is reached, within a period, the UE 104 determines (205) that the SBFD symbol is invalid. In some embodiments, the period may include at least one TDD UL-DL pattern periods. The period may also be implemented in other manners. In other words, the UE 104 may count the switching points from the beginning of a period, and if the number of switching points is equal to a predefined or configured value at a time point, then the UE may assume that the SBFD symbols after the time point are invalid SBFD symbols until the end of the period.

As a first option, the switching points associated with valid SBFD symbols may include both first switching points from a valid SBFD symbol to a non-SBFD symbol or an invalid SBFD symbol and second switching points from a non-SBFD symbol or an invalid SBFD symbol to a valid SBFD symbol. In other words, a single maximum number of switching points may be predefined or configured. The UE 104 may count the number of switching points for both switching from valid SBFD symbols to non-SBFD or invalid SBFD symbols and switching from non-SBFD or invalid SBFD symbols to valid SBFD symbols from the beginning of the period. If the number of switching points reaches the maximum value at a time point, the UE 104 may determine that the SBFD symbols after the time point within the period are invalid SBFD symbols.

As a second option, the UE 104 may count a number of first switching points from a valid SBFD symbol to a non-SBFD symbol or an invalid SBFD symbol within the period. In addition, the UE 104 may count a number of second switching points from a non-SBFD symbol or an invalid SBFD symbol to a valid SBFD symbol within the period. If the number of the first switching points reaches a first maximum number or the number of the second switching points reaches a second maximum number, the UE 104 may determine that a maximum number of switching points associated with valid SBFD symbols within the period is reached. In other words, the maximum number of switching points for switching from valid SBFD symbols to non-SBFD or invalid SBFD symbols and the maximum number of switching points for switching from non-SBFD or invalid SBFD symbols to valid SBFD symbols are separately predefined or configured. For example, a maximum number k1 of switching points is explicitly predefined or configured for switching from valid SBFD symbols to non-SBFD or invalid SBFD symbols and a maximum number k2 of switching points is explicitly predefined or configured for switching from non-SBFD or invalid SBFD symbols to valid SBFD symbols. In some implementations, k1 may be equal to k2. Alternatively, k1 may be different from k2.

The UE 104 may count the number of switching points for these two switching directions separately from the beginning of a period, and if the maximum number of switching points reaches for either switching direction at a time point, the UE 104 may determine that the SBFD symbols after the time point in the period are invalid SBFD symbols. The rationale of such embodiment is that different efforts might be needed in the base station 102 for switching from valid SBFD symbols to non-SBFD or invalid SBFD symbols and for switching from non-SBFD or invalid SBFD symbols to valid SBFD symbols, leading to different requirements on the maximum number of switching points for each switching direction.

In some embodiments, the switching points associated with valid SBFD symbols may include first switching points from a valid SBFD symbol to a non-SBFD symbol or an invalid SBFD symbol. Alternatively, the switching points associated with valid SBFD symbols may include second switching points from a non-SBFD symbol or an invalid SBFD symbol to a valid SBFD symbol. In other words, only the maximum number of switching points for only one switching direction (e.g., from valid SBFD symbols to non-SBFD or invalid SBFD symbols) is predefined or configured. In some implementations, no (or only little) additional effort in the base station side is needed for the other switching direction (e.g., from non-SBFD or invalid SBFD symbols to valid SBFD symbols) , therefore there is no need to limit the number of switching points for this switching direction.

FIG. 5A illustrates an example 500A of determining invalid SBFD symbols based on respective maximum numbers of switching points for each of the two switching directions. In the example 500A, the maximum number of switching points for a first switching direction from valid SBFD symbols to non-SBFD or invalid SBFD symbols is 2 and the maximum number of switching points for a second switching direction from non-SBFD or invalid SBFD symbols to valid SBFD symbols is 2. As shown in FIG. 5A, there are two switching points for the first switching direction and there are two switching points for the second switching direction. The invalid symbols due to overlapping with ROs outside the UL subband does not make the number of switching points for each direction bigger than the allowable number of switching points for each direction. Therefore, the SBFD symbols after switching point #1 for the second switching direction (e.g., from non-SBFD or invalid SBFD symbols to valid SBFD symbols) are valid SBFD symbols.

FIG. 5B illustrates another example 500B of determining invalid SBFD symbols based on respective maximum numbers of switching points for each of the two switching directions. In the example 500B, the maximum number of switching points for a first switching direction from valid SBFD symbols to non-SBFD or invalid SBFD symbols is 1 and the maximum number of switching points for a second switching direction from non-SBFD or invalid SBFD symbols to valid SBFD symbols is 1. Therefore, the SBFD symbols after switching point #1 for the first switching direction (e.g., from valid SBFD symbols to non-SBFD or invalid SBFD symbols) are all invalid SBFD symbols.

As a third option, the switching points associated with valid SBFD symbols may include switching points from a valid SBFD symbol to an UL symbol or a first flexible symbol. The first flexible symbol is determined as an invalid SBFD symbol and allocated with resources for UL signals or channels. Alternatively or additionally, the switching points associated with valid SBFD symbols may include switching points from a valid SBFD symbol to one of the following: a first DL symbol, a second DL symbol, or a second flexible symbol. The first DL symbol is a non-SBFD symbol. The second DL symbol is determined as an invalid SBFD symbol. The second flexible symbol is determined as an invalid SBFD symbol and allocated with resources for DL signals or channels. Alternatively or additionally, the switching points associated with valid SBFD symbols may include switching points from an UL symbol or a first flexible symbol to a valid SBFD symbol. Alternatively or additionally, the switching points associated with valid SBFD symbols may include switching points from one of the following to a valid SBFD symbol: a first DL symbol, a second DL symbol, or a second flexible symbol.

In other words, the maximum number of switching points may be predefined or configured between valid SBFD symbols and symbols with a specific link direction. For example, the maximum number of switching points may be defined or configured for at least one of the following: (i) from UL symbols or invalid SBFD flexible symbols with allocated resources for cell common UL signallings/channels switching to valid SBFD symbols; (ii) from non-SBFD DL symbols or invalid SBFD DL symbols or invalid SBFD flexible symbols with allocated resources for cell common DL signallings/channels switching to valid SBFD symbols; (iii) from valid SBFD symbols switching to UL symbols or invalid SBFD flexible symbols with allocated resources for cell common UL signallings/channels; or (iv) from valid SBFD symbols switching to non-SBFD DL symbols or invalid SBFD DL symbols or invalid SBFD flexible symbols with allocated resources for cell common DL signallings/channels.

The specific link direction for the maximum number of switching points might be dependent on the antenna configuration in each kind of symbols. FIG. 5C illustrates an example 500C of antenna configurations utilized in different symbols. It is noted that the antenna configurations utilized in different symbols in FIG. 5C is merely for illustration, and not for limitation. Embodiments of the present disclosure may apply to other antenna configurations utilized in different symbols. As shown in FIG. 5C, the first antenna configuration is used for only DL transmission, and thus utilized in non-SBFD DL symbols, invalid SBFD DL symbols and invalid SBFD flexible symbols with allocated resources for cell common DL signallings/channels. In non-SBFD DL symbols, invalid SBFD DL symbols and invalid SBFD flexible symbols with allocated resources for cell common DL signallings/channels, the first antenna configuration is utilized and a panel group #1 with L antenna elements of the base station could be used for DL transmission. The second antenna configuration is used for both DL transmission and UL reception, and thus utilized in valid SBFD symbols. In valid SBFD symbols, the second antenna configuration is utilized, a panel group #1 with L antenna elements of the base station could be used for DL transmission and a panel group #2 with another L antenna elements of the base station could be used for UL reception. The third antenna configuration is used for only UL receiption, and thus utilized in UL symbols and invalid SBFD flexible symbols with allocated resources for cell common UL signallings/channels. In UL symbols and invalid SBFD flexible symbols with allocated resources for cell common UL signallings/channels, the third antenna configuration is utilized and a panel group #2 with another L antenna elements of the base station could be used for UL reception.

In the example 500C, the first and the second antenna configurations are not changed for DL transmission, but the second and third antenna configurations are changed. Therefore, switching between the first and second antenna configurations may not require much implementation effort, but this is not the case for the switching between the second and third antenna configurations. The UE may count the switching points for at least one switching direction between the second and third antenna configurations (e.g., the switching direction from valid SBFD symbols to UL symbols or invalid SBFD flexible symbols with allocated resources for cell common UL signallings/channels, and/or the switching direction from UL symbols or invalid SBFD flexible symbols with allocated resources for cell common UL signallings/channels to valid SBFD symbols) and decide that the SBFD symbols after a time point are the invalid SBFD symbols if the number of the counted switching point reaches a corresponding maximum switching point number at this time point.

Returning back to FIG. 2, in some other embodiments, antenna configurations of an invalid SBFD symbol for reception chains at the network device are unchanged compared to antenna configurations of valid SBFD symbols for reception chains at the network device. Alternatively or additionally, antenna configurations of an invalid SBFD symbol for transmission chains at the network device are unchanged compared to antenna configurations of valid SBFD symbols for transmission chains at the network device. In some embodiments, a switching is not needed between a valid SBFD symbol and an invalid SBFD symbol. For example, based on predefined principle or based on network configuration, the UE 104 may assume that the antenna configurations of the invalid SBFD symbols in the base station side are not changed compared with those in the valid SBFD symbols, so that switching operation is not needed in the base station side between valid SBFD symbols and invalid SBFD symbols. In some embodiments, the SBFD symbols may be determined as invalid SBFD symbols if resources for DL cell common signals/channels are allocated outside of the at least one DL subband in the SBFD symbols or if resources for UL cell common signals/channels are allocated outside of the at least one UL subband in the SBFD symbol. In this way, the number of switching points does not increase due to invalidation of SBFD symbols.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example 600 of a TDD frame structure with invalid SBFD symbols in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. In the example 600, two antenna configurations (antenna configuration #1 and antenna configuration #2) may be utilized. The same antenna configuration #1 is used in both valid SBFD symbols and invalid SBFD symbols. The antenna configuration #2 is used in non-SBFD symbols. Thus, switching is not needed in the base station between SBFD symbols and invalid SBFD symbols. In other words, no additional switching point is incurred by the invalid SBFD symbols, and thus no additional effort is needed for the base station to switch between different antenna configurations.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a device 700 that supports invalidation of SBFD symbols in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device 700 may be an example of a UE 104 or a base station 102 as described herein. The device 700 may support wireless communication with one or more network entities 102, UEs 104, or any combination thereof. The device 700 may include components for bi-directional communications including components for transmitting and receiving communications, such as a processor 702, a memory 704, a transceiver 706, and, optionally, an I/O controller 708. These components may be in electronic communication or otherwise coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more interfaces (e.g., buses) .

The processor 702, the memory 704, the transceiver 706, or various combinations thereof or various components thereof may be examples of means for performing various aspects of the present disclosure as described herein. For example, the processor 702, the memory 704, the transceiver 706, or various combinations or components thereof may support a method for performing one or more of the operations described herein.

In some implementations, the processor 702, the memory 704, the transceiver 706, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in hardware (e.g., in communications management circuitry) . The hardware may include a processor, a digital signal processor (DSP) , an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) , a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof configured as or otherwise supporting a means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure. In some implementations, the processor 702 and the memory 704 coupled with the processor 702 may be configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein (e.g., executing, by the processor 702, instructions stored in the memory 704) .

In an example, the processor 702 may support wireless communication at the device 700 in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The processor 702 may be configured to operable to support a means for receiving, from a base station, subband full duplex (SBFD) configurations; a means for determining at least one uplink (UL) subband and at least one downlink (DL) subband in at least one SBFD symbol based on the SBFD configurations; and a means for determining that one of the at least one SBFD symbol is invalid based on one of the following: resources for a DL cell common signal or channel being allocated outside of the at least one DL subband in the SBFD symbol; resources for a UL cell common signal or channel being allocated outside of the at least one UL subband in the SBFD symbol; or the SBFD symbol being located after a time point, at which a maximum number of switching points associated with valid SBFD symbols is reached, within a period.

In another example, the processor 702 may support wireless communication at the device 700 in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The processor 702 may be configured to operable to support a means for transmitting, to a user equipment (UE) , subband full duplex (SBFD) configurations; a means for determining at least one uplink (UL) subband and at least one downlink (DL) subband in at least one SBFD symbol based on the SBFD configurations; and a means for determining that one of the at least one SBFD symbol is invalid based on one of the following: resources for a DL cell common signal or channel being allocated outside of the at least one DL subband in the SBFD symbol; resources for a UL cell common signal or channel being allocated outside of the at least one UL subband in the SBFD symbol; or the SBFD symbol being located after a time point, at which a maximum number of switching points associated with valid SBFD symbols is reached, within a period.

The processor 702 may include an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof) . In some implementations, the processor 702 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In some other implementations, a memory controller may be integrated into the processor 702. The processor 702 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the memory 704) to cause the device 700 to perform various functions of the present disclosure such that the device 700 may perform any process of the disclosure as discussed with reference to FIGS. 2 to 7B.

The memory 704 may include random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM) . The memory 704 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code including instructions that, when executed by the processor 702 cause the device 700 to perform various functions described herein. The code may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as system memory or another type of memory. In some implementations, the code may not be directly executable by the processor 702 but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functions described herein. In some implementations, the memory 704 may include, among other things, a basic I/O system (BIOS) which may control basic hardware or software operation such as the interaction with peripheral components or devices.

The I/O controller 708 may manage input and output signals for the device 700. The I/O controller 708 may also manage peripherals not integrated into the device M02. In some implementations, the I/O controller 708 may represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral. In some implementations, the I/O controller 708 may utilize an operating system such as or another known operating system. In some implementations, the I/O controller 708 may be implemented as part of a processor, such as the processor 702. In some implementations, a user may interact with the device 700 via the I/O controller 708 or via hardware components controlled by the I/O controller 708.

In some implementations, the device 700 may include a single antenna 710. However, in some other implementations, the device 700 may have more than one antenna 710 (i.e., multiple antennas) , including multiple antenna panels or antenna arrays, which may be capable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions. The transceiver 706 may communicate bi-directionally, via the one or more antennas 710, wired, or wireless links as described herein. For example, the transceiver 706 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 706 may also include a modem to modulate the packets, to provide the modulated packets to one or more antennas 710 for transmission, and to demodulate packets received from the one or more antennas 710. The transceiver 706 may include one or more transmit chains, one or more receive chains, or a combination thereof.

A transmit chain may be configured to generate and transmit signals (e.g., control information, data, packets) . The transmit chain may include at least one modulator for modulating data onto a carrier signal, preparing the signal for transmission over a wireless medium. The at least one modulator may be configured to support one or more techniques such as amplitude modulation (AM) , frequency modulation (FM) , or digital modulation schemes like phase-shift keying (PSK) or quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) . The transmit chain may also include at least one power amplifier configured to amplify the modulated signal to an appropriate power level suitable for transmission over the wireless medium. The transmit chain may also include one or more antennas 710 for transmitting the amplified signal into the air or wireless medium.

A receive chain may be configured to receive signals (e.g., control information, data, packets) over a wireless medium. For example, the receive chain may include one or more antennas 710 for receive the signal over the air or wireless medium. The receive chain may include at least one amplifier (e.g., a low-noise amplifier (LNA) ) configured to amplify the received signal. The receive chain may include at least one demodulator configured to demodulate the receive signal and obtain the transmitted data by reversing the modulation technique applied during transmission of the signal. The receive chain may include at least one decoder for decoding the processing the demodulated signal to receive the transmitted data.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a processor 800 that supports invalidation of SBFD symbols in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The processor 800 may be an example of a processor configured to perform various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. The processor 800 may be implemented in a device or its components as described herein. For example, the device may be an example of a UE 104 or a base station 102 as described herein. The processor 800 may include a controller 802 configured to perform various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. The processor 800 may optionally include at least one memory 804, such as L1/L2/L3 cache. Additionally, or alternatively, the processor 800 may optionally include one or more arithmetic-logic units (ALUs) 806. One or more of these components may be in electronic communication or otherwise coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more interfaces (e.g., buses) .

The processor 800 may be a processor chipset and include a protocol stack (e.g., a software stack) executed by the processor chipset to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, obtaining, retrieving, transmitting, outputting, forwarding, storing, determining, identifying, accessing, writing, reading) in accordance with examples as described herein. The processor chipset may include one or more cores, one or more caches (e.g., memory local to or included in the processor chipset (e.g., the processor 800) or other memory (e.g., random access memory (RAM) , read-only memory (ROM) , dynamic RAM (DRAM) , synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM) , static RAM (SRAM) , ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM) , magnetic RAM (MRAM) , resistive RAM (RRAM) , flash memory, phase change memory (PCM) , and others) .

The controller 802 may be configured to manage and coordinate various operations (e.g., signaling, receiving, obtaining, retrieving, transmitting, outputting, forwarding, storing, determining, identifying, accessing, writing, reading) of the processor 800 to cause the processor 800 to support various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. For example, the controller 802 may operate as a control unit of the processor 800, generating control signals that manage the operation of various components of the processor 800. These control signals include enabling or disabling functional units, selecting data paths, initiating memory access, and coordinating timing of operations.

The controller 802 may be configured to fetch (e.g., obtain, retrieve, receive) instructions from the memory 804 and determine subsequent instruction (s) to be executed to cause the processor 800 to support various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. The controller 802 may be configured to track memory address of instructions associated with the memory 804. The controller 802 may be configured to decode instructions to determine the operation to be performed and the operands involved. For example, the controller 802 may be configured to interpret the instruction and determine control signals to be output to other components of the processor 800 to cause the processor 800 to support various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. Additionally, or alternatively, the controller 802 may be configured to manage flow of data within the processor 800. The controller 802 may be configured to control transfer of data between registers, arithmetic logic units (ALUs) , and other functional units of the processor 800.

The memory 804 may include one or more caches (e.g., memory local to or included in the processor 800 or other memory, such RAM, ROM, DRAM, SDRAM, SRAM, MRAM, flash memory, etc. In some implementation, the memory 804 may reside within or on a processor chipset (e.g., local to the processor 800) . In some other implementations, the memory 804 may reside external to the processor chipset (e.g., remote to the processor 800) .

The memory 804 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code including instructions that, when executed by the processor 800, cause the processor 800 to perform various functions described herein. The code may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as system memory or another type of memory. The controller 802 and/or the processor 800 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in the memory 804 to cause the processor 800 to perform various functions. For example, the processor 800 and/or the controller 802 may be coupled with or to the memory 804, and the processor 800, the controller 802, and the memory 804 may be configured to perform various functions described herein. In some examples, the processor 800 may include multiple processors and the memory 804 may include multiple memories. One or more of the multiple processors may be coupled with one or more of the multiple memories, which may, individually or collectively, be configured to perform various functions herein.

The one or more ALUs 806 may be configured to support various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementation, the one or more ALUs 806 may reside within or on a processor chipset (e.g., the processor 800) . In some other implementations, the one or more ALUs 806 may reside external to the processor chipset (e.g., the processor 800) . One or more ALUs 806 may perform one or more computations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division on data. For example, one or more ALUs 806 may receive input operands and an operation code, which determines an operation to be executed. One or more ALUs 806 be configured with a variety of logical and arithmetic circuits, including adders, subtractors, shifters, and logic gates, to process and manipulate the data according to the operation. Additionally, or alternatively, the one or more ALUs 806 may support logical operations such as AND, OR, exclusive-OR (XOR) , not-OR (NOR) , and not-AND (NAND) , enabling the one or more ALUs 806 to handle conditional operations, comparisons, and bitwise operations.

In an example, the processor 800 may support wireless communication in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The processor 800 may be configured to or operable to support a means for receiving, from a base station, subband full duplex (SBFD) configurations; a means for determining at least one uplink (UL) subband and at least one downlink (DL) subband in at least one SBFD symbol based on the SBFD configurations; and a means for determining that one of the at least one SBFD symbol is invalid based on one of the following: resources for a DL cell common signal or channel being allocated outside of the at least one DL subband in the SBFD symbol; resources for a UL cell common signal or channel being allocated outside of the at least one UL subband in the SBFD symbol; or the SBFD symbol being located after a time point, at which a maximum number of switching points associated with valid SBFD symbols is reached, within a period.

In another example, the processor 800 may support wireless communication in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The processor 800 may be configured to or operable to support a means for transmitting, to a user equipment (UE) , subband full duplex (SBFD) configurations; a means for determining at least one uplink (UL) subband and at least one downlink (DL) subband in at least one SBFD symbol based on the SBFD configurations; and a means for determining that one of the at least one SBFD symbol is invalid based on one of the following: resources for a DL cell common signal or channel being allocated outside of the at least one DL subband in the SBFD symbol; resources for a UL cell common signal or channel being allocated outside of the at least one UL subband in the SBFD symbol; or the SBFD symbol being located after a time point, at which a maximum number of switching points associated with valid SBFD symbols is reached, within a period.

FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart of a method 900 that supports invalidation of SBFD symbols in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 900 may be implemented by a device or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 900 may be performed by a UE 104 as described herein. In some implementations, the device may execute a set of instructions to control the function elements of the device to perform the described functions. Additionally, or alternatively, the device may perform aspects of the described functions using special-purpose hardware.

At 905, the method may include receiving, from a base station, subband full duplex (SBFD) configurations. The operations of 905 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 905 may be performed by a device as described with reference to FIG. 1A.

At 910, the method may include determining at least one uplink (UL) subband and at least one downlink (DL) subband in at least one SBFD symbol based on the SBFD configurations. The operations of 910 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 910 may be performed by a device as described with reference to FIG. 1A.

At 915, the method may include determining that one of the at least one SBFD symbol is invalid based on one of the following: resources for a DL cell common signal or channel being allocated outside of the at least one DL subband in the SBFD symbol; resources for a UL cell common signal or channel being allocated outside of the at least one UL subband in the SBFD symbol; or the SBFD symbol being located after a time point, at which a maximum number of switching points associated with valid SBFD symbols is reached, within a period. The operations of 915 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 915 may be performed by a device as described with reference to FIG. 1A.

FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart of a method 1000 that supports invalidation of SBFD symbols in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 1000 may be implemented by a device or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 1000 may be performed by a base station 102 as described herein. In some implementations, the device may execute a set of instructions to control the function elements of the device to perform the described functions. Additionally, or alternatively, the device may perform aspects of the described functions using special-purpose hardware.

At 1005, the method may include transmitting, to a user equipment (UE) , subband full duplex (SBFD) configurations. The operations of 1005 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 1005 may be performed by a device as described with reference to FIG. 1A.

At 1010, the method may include determining at least one uplink (UL) subband and at least one downlink (DL) subband in at least one SBFD symbol based on the SBFD configurations. The operations of 1010 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 1010 may be performed by a device as described with reference to FIG. 1A.

At 1015, the method may include determining that one of the at least one SBFD symbol is invalid based on one of the following: resources for a DL cell common signal or channel being allocated outside of the at least one DL subband in the SBFD symbol; resources for a UL cell common signal or channel being allocated outside of the at least one UL subband in the SBFD symbol; or the SBFD symbol being located after a time point, at which a maximum number of switching points associated with valid SBFD symbols is reached, within a period. The operations of 1015 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, aspects of the operations of 1015 may be performed by a device as described with reference to FIG. 1A.

It should be noted that the methods described herein describes possible implementations, and that the operations and the steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified and that other implementations are possible. Further, aspects from two or more of the methods may be combined.

The various illustrative blocks and components described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a CPU, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, functions described herein may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or combinations of any of these. Features implementing functions may also be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations.

Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A non-transitory storage medium may be any available medium that may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer. By way of example, non-transitory computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM) , flash memory, compact disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transitory medium that may be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of instructions or data structures and that may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor.

As used herein, including in the claims, an article “a” before an element is unrestricted and understood to refer to “at least one” of those elements or “one or more” of those elements. The terms “a, ” “at least one, ” “one or more, ” and “at least one of one or more” may be interchangeable. As used herein, including in the claims, “or” as used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items prefaced by a phrase such as “at least one of” or “one or more of” or “one or both of” ) indicates an inclusive list such that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C) . Also, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall not be construed as a reference to a closed set of conditions. For example, an example step that is described as “based on condition A” may be based on both a condition A and a condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall be construed in the same manner as the phrase “based at least in part on. Further, as used herein, including in the claims, a “set” may include one or more elements.

The description herein is provided to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be apparent to a person having ordinary skill in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

A user equipment comprising:

a processor; and

a transceiver coupled to the processor,

wherein the processor is configured to:

receive, via the transceiver from a base station, subband full duplex (SBFD) configurations;

determine at least one uplink (UL) subband and at least one downlink (DL) subband in at least one SBFD symbol based on the SBFD configurations; and

determine that one of the at least one SBFD symbol is invalid based on one of the following:

resources for a DL cell common signal or channel being allocated outside of the at least one DL subband in the SBFD symbol;

resources for a UL cell common signal or channel being allocated outside of the at least one UL subband in the SBFD symbol; or

the SBFD symbol being located after a time point, at which a maximum number of switching points associated with valid SBFD symbols is reached, within a period.
The UE of claim 1, wherein the UL cell common signal or channel comprises a random access channel (RACH) .
The UE of claim 1, wherein the DL cell common signal or channels comprises one of the following:

a control resource set (CORESET) for type-0 search space set; or

a synchronization signal block and physical broadcast channel (SS/PBCH) block.
The UE of claim 1, wherein the switching points associated with valid SBFD symbols comprise both first switching points from a valid SBFD symbol to a non-SBFD symbol or an invalid SBFD symbol and second switching points from a non-SBFD symbol or an invalid SBFD symbol to a valid SBFD symbol.
The UE of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:

count a number of first switching points from a valid SBFD symbol to a non-SBFD symbol or an invalid SBFD symbol within the period;

count a number of second switching points from a non-SBFD symbol or an invalid SBFD symbol to a valid SBFD symbol within the period; and

determine that a maximum number of switching points associated with valid SBFD symbols within the period is reached in the case that the number of the first switching points reaches a first maximum number or the number of the second switching points reaches a second maximum number.
The UE of claim 1, wherein the switching points associated with valid SBFD symbols comprise one of the following:

first switching points from a valid SBFD symbol to a non-SBFD symbol or an invalid SBFD symbol; or

second switching points from a non-SBFD symbol or an invalid SBFD symbol to a valid SBFD symbol.
The UE of claim 1, wherein the switching points associated with valid SBFD symbols comprise at least one of the following:

switching points from a valid SBFD symbol to one of the following: an UL symbol or a first flexible symbol;

switching points from a valid SBFD symbol to one of the following: a first DL symbol, a second DL symbol, or a second flexible symbol;

switching points from one of the following to a valid SBFD symbol: an UL symbol or a first flexible symbol; or

switching points from one of the following to a valid SBFD symbol: a first DL symbol, a second DL symbol, or a second flexible symbol,

wherein the first DL symbol is a non-SBFD symbol, and the second DL symbol is determined as an invalid SBFD symbol,

wherein the first flexible symbol is determined as an invalid SBFD symbol and allocated with resources for UL signals or channels, and the second flexible symbol is determined as an invalid SBFD symbol and allocated with resources for DL signals or channels.
The UE of claim 1, wherein at least one of the following:

antenna configurations of an invalid SBFD symbol for reception chains at the network device are unchanged compared to antenna configurations of valid SBFD symbols for reception chains at the network device; or

antenna configurations of an invalid SBFD symbol for transmission chains at the network device are unchanged compared to antenna configurations of valid SBFD symbols for transmission chains at the network device.
The UE of claim 1, wherein a switching is not needed between a valid SBFD symbol and an invalid SBFD symbol.
The UE of claim 1, wherein the period comprises at least one time division duplex (TDD) UL-DL pattern periods.
The UE of claim 1, wherein in the case that the SBFD symbol is determined as the invalid SBFD symbol, only one of resources for DL transmissions or resources for UL transmissions is allocated in the SBFD symbol.
The UE of claim 1, wherein the at least one SBFD symbol is configured in at least one SBFD flexible symbol.
A base station comprising:

a processor; and

a transceiver coupled to the processor,

wherein the processor is configured to:

transmit, via the transceiver to a user equipment (UE) , subband full duplex (SBFD) configurations;

determine at least one uplink (UL) subband and at least one downlink (DL) subband in at least one SBFD symbol based on the SBFD configurations; and

determine that one of the at least one SBFD symbol is invalid based on one of the following:

resources for a DL cell common signal or channel being allocated outside of the at least one DL subband in the SBFD symbol;

resources for a UL cell common signal or channel being allocated outside of the at least one UL subband in the SBFD symbol; or

the SBFD symbol being located after a time point, at which a maximum number of switching points associated with valid SBFD symbols is reached, within a period.
A method performed by a user equipment, comprising:

receiving, from a base station, subband full duplex (SBFD) configurations;

determining at least one uplink (UL) subband and at least one downlink (DL) subband in at least one SBFD symbol based on the SBFD configurations; and

determining that one of the at least one SBFD symbol is invalid based on one of the following:

resources for a DL cell common signal or channel being allocated outside of the at least one DL subband in the SBFD symbol;

resources for a UL cell common signal or channel being allocated outside of the at least one UL subband in the SBFD symbol; or

the SBFD symbol being located after a time point, at which a maximum number of switching points associated with valid SBFD symbols is reached, within a period.
A processor for wireless communication, comprising:

at least one memory; and

a controller coupled with the at least one memory and configured to cause the controller to:

receive, from a base station, subband full duplex (SBFD) configurations;

determine at least one uplink (UL) subband and at least one downlink (DL) subband in at least one SBFD symbol based on the SBFD configurations; and

determine that one of the at least one SBFD symbol is invalid based on one of the following:

resources for a DL cell common signal or channel being allocated outside of the at least one DL subband in the SBFD symbol;

resources for a UL cell common signal or channel being allocated outside of the at least one UL subband in the SBFD symbol; or

the SBFD symbol being located after a time point, at which a maximum number of switching points associated with valid SBFD symbols is reached, within a period.