WO2025160859A1

WO2025160859A1 - Systems and methods for performing uplink capacity enhancement

Info

Publication number: WO2025160859A1
Application number: PCT/CN2024/075090
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ziyang Li; Nan Zhang; Junli Li; Fangyu CUI; Wei Cao
Original assignee: ZTE Corp
Current assignee: ZTE Corp
Priority date: 2024-01-31
Filing date: 2024-01-31
Publication date: 2025-08-07
Anticipated expiration: 2026-07-31

Abstract

Presented are systems and methods for performing uplink capacity enhancement. A wireless communication device can determine a configuration for applying at least one sequence to an uplink transmission. The wireless communication device can apply, according to the configuration, the at least one sequence to the uplink transmission. A wireless communication node can receive an uplink transmission from the wireless communication device.

Description

SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PERFORMING UPLINK CAPACITY ENHANCEMENT

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, including but not limited to systems and methods for performing uplink (UL) capacity enhancement.

BACKGROUND

Coverage is a key consideration in cellular network deployments. With the rise of interconnected devices, there is a growing focus on effective device communication. The current 3GPP standards, spanning from 3G to 5G and beyond, focus on the importance of seamless communication among various devices, from smart home devices to wearable devices. In industrial settings, the complexity of tasks often requires collaboration. This calls for several cooperative operational management systems, with the aim of creating workgroups and managing different types of devices to complete the required tasks.

SUMMARY

The example embodiments disclosed herein are directed to solving the issues relating to one or multiple of the problems presented in the prior art, as well as providing additional features that will become readily apparent by reference to the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompany drawings. In accordance with various embodiments, example systems, methods, devices and computer program products are disclosed herein. It is understood, however, that these embodiments are presented by way of example and are not limiting, and it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art who read the present disclosure that various modifications to the disclosed embodiments can be made while remaining within the scope of this disclosure.

At least one aspect is directed to a system, method, apparatus, or a computer-readable medium. A wireless communication device (e.g., user equipment (UE) ) can determine a configuration for applying at least one sequence to (e.g., a data portion of) an uplink transmission. In certain implementations, the wireless communication device can apply, according to the configuration, at least one sequence to the uplink transmission. In certain implementations, the uplink transmission may include at least one of the following: a plurality of repetitions of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission scheduled by a downlink control information (DCI) signaling; a plurality of repetitions of a PUSCH transmission scheduled by at least one of a random access response (RAR) message or a fallback RAR message (e.g., RAR (msg2) schedules a msg3 in 4-step RACH procedure, fallback RAR (msgB) schedules a msg3 in 2-step RACH procedure) ; a plurality of repetitions of a PUSCH transmission in a random access procedure (e.g., MsgA PUSCH) ; or a plurality of repetitions of a configured grant PUSCH transmission. In certain implementations, applying at least one sequence may include applying at least one sequence to one or more units of the uplink transmission. In certain implementations, the one or more units of the uplink transmission may include at least one of the following: one or more repetition groups, one or more repetitions, one or more slots, one or more symbols, one or more resource elements (REs) , or one or more resource blocks (RBs) .

In certain implementations, applying at least one sequence may include applying a first sequence to a data portion of one or more repetitions of the uplink transmission. In some implementations, applying at least one sequence may include applying a first element of the first sequence to a data portion of a first repetition of the uplink transmission. In some implementations, applying at least one sequence may include applying a first sequence or a second sequence to a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) portion of one or more repetitions of the uplink transmission. In some implementations, applying at least one sequence may include multiplying each element of the first sequence to a data portion of a respective repetition of the repetitions. In some implementations, multiplying the first sequence may include multiplying the first sequence in the time domain or in the frequency domain. In some implementations, at least one sequence may include at least one of the following: an orthogonal cover code (OCC) sequence, a non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) sequence, or a sequence based on a discrete Fourier transform (DFT) sequence, a Walsh sequence, a Zadoff-Chu (ZC) sequence, or a Hadamard matrix or code.

In certain implementations, the configuration can indicate whether to apply a first sequence across the repetitions. In certain implementations, the repetitions can have the same redundancy version (RV) . In some implementations, the length of the first sequence can be equal to the number of repetitions. In some implementations, each element of the first sequence can be multiplied by a respective one of the repetitions. In some implementations, each repetition can refer to a slot or a mini-slot. In certain implementations, the repetitions can have at least two redundancy versions (RVs) . In some implementations, the configuration can indicate to apply a first sequence across a first subset of the repetitions that has a first RV. In some implementations, the configuration can indicate whether to apply the first sequence or a second sequence across a second subset of the repetitions that has a second RV. In some implementations, the length of the first sequence can be equal to the number of repetitions divided by the number of unique RVs. In some implementations, each element of the first sequence can be multiplied by a respective one of the first subset of repetitions.

In certain implementations, the configuration can indicate whether to apply a first sequence across repetition groups that comprise the repetitions. In certain implementations, the repetition groups can have the same redundancy version (RV) . In some implementations, the length of the first sequence can be equal to the number of repetition groups. In some implementations, each element of the first sequence can be multiplied by a respective one of the repetition groups. In certain implementations, the repetition groups can have at least two redundancy versions (RVs) . In some implementations, the configuration can indicate to apply a first sequence across a first subset of the repetition groups that has a first RV. In some implementations, the configuration can indicate whether to apply the first sequence or a second sequence across a second subset of the repetition groups that has a second RV. In some implementations, the length of the first sequence is equal to the number of repetition groups divided by the number of unique RVs. In some implementations, each element of the first sequence can be multiplied by a respective one of the first subset of repetition groups.

In certain implementations, the configuration can indicate whether to apply a first sequence across repetitions within a first repetition group. In some implementations, the configuration can indicate whether to apply the first sequence or a second sequence across repetitions within a second repetition group. In some implementations, the length of the first sequence can be equal to the number of repetitions within the first repetition group. In some implementations, the length of the first sequence can be the same as the length of the second sequence. In some implementations, the length of the first sequence can be different from the length of the second sequence. In some implementations, the first repetition group can have a same number of repetitions as the second repetition group. In some implementations, the first repetition group can have a different number of repetitions than the second repetition group.

In certain implementations, the repetitions within the first repetition group can have the same redundancy version (RV) . In some implementations, each element of the first sequence can be multiplied by a respective one of the repetitions within the first repetition group. In some implementations, each element of the first sequence or the second sequence can be multiplied by a respective one of the repetitions within the second repetition group. In certain implementations, the repetitions within a repetition group can have at least two redundancy versions (RVs) . In some implementations, the configuration can indicate whether to apply a first sequence across a first subset of the repetitions within the repetition group that has a first RV. In some implementations, the configuration can indicate whether to apply the first sequence or a second sequence across a second subset of the repetitions within the repetition group that has a second RV. In some implementations, each element of the first sequence can be multiplied by a respective one of the first subset of repetitions.

In certain implementations, the configuration can indicate whether to apply a first sequence across one or more symbols of the uplink transmission. In certain implementations, the length of the first sequence can be equal to the number of repetitions. In some implementations, the configuration can indicate whether to apply the first sequence across symbols having the same position across the repetitions. In some implementations, the configuration can indicate whether to apply a second sequence across symbols having a second same position across the repetitions. In some implementations, each element of the first sequence can be multiplied by a respective one of the symbols having the same position across the repetitions.

In certain implementations, the symbols, including X symbols, can be divided into symbol groups, each having/including Y symbols. In some implementations, X and Y can each be a respective positive integer value. In some implementations, the configuration can indicate whether to apply the first sequence across Y symbols of a first symbol group. In some implementations, the configuration can indicate whether to apply an element of the first sequence across the Y symbols of a first symbol group. In some implementations, Y may include at least one of the following: a defined value, a value of a radio resource control (RRC) parameter, or a value derived using a floor, or a ceiling function of (X divided by repetition number) . In some implementations, the length of the first sequence can be equal to the number of repetitions, or a floor function of (X divided by Y) . In certain implementations, the configuration can indicate whether to apply a first sequence across symbols in a first resource element (RE) of the repetitions. In some implementations, the length of the first sequence can be equal to the number of repetitions.

In certain implementations, the wireless communication device can receive/obtain/acquire a parameter (e.g., indication, value, signaling, configuration) from a wireless communication node. The parameter can indicate whether at least one of the following is enabled or disabled: multiplexing of wireless communication devices or application of at least one sequence to the repetitions. In some implementations, the parameter can indicate which method for sequence application is selected or the length of at least one sequence applied to the uplink transmission. In some implementations, the parameter can be included or indicated in at least one of the following: system information, radio resource control (RRC) signaling, medium access control control element (MAC CE) signaling, or downlink control information (DCI) signaling.

In certain implementations, the wireless communication device can determine at least one of the following: whether multiplexing of wireless communication devices or the application of at least one sequence to repetitions is enabled or disabled; or which method for sequence application is selected; or the length of at least one sequence applied to the uplink transmission. In some implementations, the determination can be made according to at least one of a downlink (DL) reference signal received power (RSRP) or a threshold. In some implementations, the DL RSRP can be based on a synchronization signal block (SSB) or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) . In some implementations, the threshold may be included or indicated in one or more of the following: system information, radio resource control (RRC) signaling, or a medium access control control element (MAC CE) signaling.

In certain implementations, the wireless communication device can determine a plurality of sequences (e.g., predefined or communicated to the UE) . In certain implementations, the wireless communication device can receive/obtain/acquire, from a wireless communication node (e.g., a base station (BS) ) , an indication of at least one sequence from the plurality of sequences to apply to the uplink transmission. In some implementations, the indication can be included or specified in at least one of the following: a redundancy version (RV) field or other field of a downlink control information (DCI) signaling, a repK-RV parameter or other parameter of a radio resource control (RRC) signaling, or a field in a random access response (RAR) message.

In certain implementations, the wireless communication device can determine a plurality of sequences. In certain implementations, the wireless communication device can determine at least one sequence from the plurality of sequences according to at least one of the following: a repetition number, a redundancy version (RV) , a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) port index, a cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) , an identifier (ID) of the wireless communication device, or a maximum sequence number/length; a function of any one or more thereof; or a mod function of any two thereof. In certain implementations, the wireless communication device can determine a plurality of sequences (e.g., predefined or communicated to the UE via system information block (SIB) ) . In certain implementations, the wireless communication device can randomly determine at least one sequence from the plurality of sequences.

In certain implementations, the wireless communication device can determine at least one sequence according to at least one of the following: a preamble index, a random access occasion (RO) index, a synchronization signal block (SSB) index, a time domain resource of a RO, a frequency domain resource of a RO, or a random access radio network temporary identifier (RA-RNTI) ; a function of any one or more thereof; or a mod function of any two thereof. In certain implementations, a wireless communication node (e.g., BS, gNB) can receive an uplink transmission from a wireless communication device, where at least one sequence has been applied to the uplink transmission (e.g., applied to data portions of repetitions of the uplink transmission) at the wireless communication device.

In some implementations, the system of the technical solution disclosed herein can support performing UL capacity enhancement, according to at least one of the following example configurations (e.g., features or solutions) :

● Example configuration 1: Applying a sequence across repetitions.

● Example configuration 2: Applying a sequence across repetition groups.

● Example configuration 3: Applying a sequence across repetitions within a repetition group.

● Example configuration 4: Applying a sequence across symbols.

● Example configuration 5: Applying a sequence within a symbol (or across REs) .

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various example embodiments of the present solution are described in detail below with reference to the following figures or drawings. The drawings are provided for purposes of illustration only and merely depict example embodiments of the present solution to facilitate the reader’s understanding of the present solution. Therefore, the drawings should not be considered limiting of the breadth, scope, or applicability of the present solution. It should be noted that for clarity and ease of illustration, these drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example cellular communication network in which techniques disclosed herein may be implemented, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example base station and a user equipment device, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example implementation of a non-terrestrial network, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example implementation of UE de-multiplexing, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example implementation of a sequence applied across repetitions, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates another example implementation of a sequence applied across repetitions, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates another example implementation of a sequence applied across repetitions, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 illustrates an example implementation of a sequence applied across symbols, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 illustrates another example implementation of a sequence applied across symbols, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 illustrates an example implementation of a sequence applied within a symbol (or across REs) , in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 11 illustrates a flow diagram of an example method for performing UL capacity enhancement, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

1. Mobile Communication Technology and Environment

FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless communication network, and/or system, 100 in which techniques disclosed herein may be implemented, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the following discussion, the wireless communication network 100 may be any wireless network, such as a cellular network or a narrowband Internet of things (NB-IoT) network, and is herein referred to as “network 100. ” Such an example network 100 includes a base station 102 (hereinafter “BS 102” ; also referred to as wireless communication node) and a user equipment device 104 (hereinafter “UE 104” ; also referred to as wireless communication device) that can communicate with each other via a communication link 110 (e.g., a wireless communication channel) , and a cluster of cells 126, 130, 132, 134, 136, 138 and 140 overlaying a geographical area 101. In FIG. 1, the BS 102 and UE 104 are contained within a respective geographic boundary of cell 126. Each of the other cells 130, 132, 134, 136, 138 and 140 may include at least one base station operating at its allocated bandwidth to provide adequate radio coverage to its intended users.

For example, the BS 102 may operate at an allocated channel transmission bandwidth to provide adequate coverage to the UE 104. The BS 102 and the UE 104 may communicate via a downlink radio frame 118, and an uplink radio frame 124 respectively. Each radio frame 118/124 may be further divided into sub-frames 120/127 which may include data symbols 122/128. In the present disclosure, the BS 102 and UE 104 are described herein as non-limiting examples of “communication nodes, ” generally, which can practice the methods disclosed herein. Such communication nodes may be capable of wireless and/or wired communications, in accordance with various embodiments of the present solution.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example wireless communication system 200 for transmitting and receiving wireless communication signals (e.g., OFDM/OFDMA signals) in accordance with some embodiments of the present solution. The system 200 may include components and elements configured to support known or conventional operating features that need not be described in detail herein. In one illustrative embodiment, system 200 can be used to communicate (e.g., transmit and receive) data symbols in a wireless communication environment such as the wireless communication environment 100 of FIG. 1, as described above.

System 200 generally includes a base station 202 (hereinafter “BS 202” ) and a user equipment device 204 (hereinafter “UE 204” ) . The BS 202 includes a BS (base station) transceiver module 210, a BS antenna 212, a BS processor module 214, a BS memory module 216, and a network communication module 218, each module being coupled and interconnected with one another as necessary via a data communication bus 220. The UE 204 includes a UE (user equipment) transceiver module 230, a UE antenna 232, a UE memory module 234, and a UE processor module 236, each module being coupled and interconnected with one another as necessary via a data communication bus 240. The BS 202 communicates with the UE 204 via a communication channel 250, which can be any wireless channel or other medium suitable for transmission of data as described herein.

As would be understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art, system 200 may further include any number of modules other than the modules shown in FIG. 2. Those skilled in the art will understand that the various illustrative blocks, modules, circuits, and processing logic described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented in hardware, computer-readable software, firmware, or any practical combination thereof. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability and compatibility of hardware, firmware, and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps are described generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware, firmware, or software can depend upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those familiar with the concepts described herein may implement such functionality in a suitable manner for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the present disclosure.

In accordance with some embodiments, the UE transceiver 230 may be referred to herein as an “uplink” transceiver 230 that includes a radio frequency (RF) transmitter and a RF receiver each comprising circuitry that is coupled to the antenna 232. A duplex switch (not shown) may alternatively couple the uplink transmitter or receiver to the uplink antenna in time duplex fashion. Similarly, in accordance with some embodiments, the BS transceiver 210 may be referred to herein as a “downlink” transceiver 210 that includes a RF transmitter and a RF receiver each comprising circuity that is coupled to the antenna 212. A downlink duplex switch may alternatively couple the downlink transmitter or receiver to the downlink antenna 212 in time duplex fashion. The operations of the two transceiver modules 210 and 230 may be coordinated in time such that the uplink receiver circuitry is coupled to the uplink antenna 232 for reception of transmissions over the wireless transmission link 250 at the same time that the downlink transmitter is coupled to the downlink antenna 212. Conversely, the operations of the two transceivers 210 and 230 may be coordinated in time such that the downlink receiver is coupled to the downlink antenna 212 for reception of transmissions over the wireless transmission link 250 at the same time that the uplink transmitter is coupled to the uplink antenna 232. In some embodiments, there is close time synchronization with a minimal guard time between changes in duplex direction.

The UE transceiver 230 and the base station transceiver 210 are configured to communicate via the wireless data communication link 250, and cooperate with a suitably configured RF antenna arrangement 212/232 that can support a particular wireless communication protocol and modulation scheme. In some illustrative embodiments, the UE transceiver 210 and the base station transceiver 210 are configured to support industry standards such as the Long Term Evolution (LTE) and emerging 5G standards, and the like. It is understood, however, that the present disclosure is not necessarily limited in application to a particular standard and associated protocols. Rather, the UE transceiver 230 and the base station transceiver 210 may be configured to support alternate, or additional, wireless data communication protocols, including future standards or variations thereof.

In accordance with various embodiments, the BS 202 may be an evolved node B (eNB) , a serving eNB, a target eNB, a femto station, or a pico station, for example. In some embodiments, the UE 204 may be embodied in various types of user devices such as a mobile phone, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA) , tablet, laptop computer, wearable computing device, etc. The processor modules 214 and 236 may be implemented, or realized, with a general purpose processor, a content addressable memory, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, any suitable programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof, designed to perform the functions described herein. In this manner, a processor may be realized as a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a state machine, or the like. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or multiple microprocessors in conjunction with a digital signal processor core, or any other such configuration.

Furthermore, the steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in firmware, in a software module executed by processor modules 214 and 236, respectively, or in any practical combination thereof. The memory modules 216 and 234 may be realized as RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. In this regard, memory modules 216 and 234 may be coupled to the processor modules 210 and 230, respectively, such that the processors modules 210 and 230 can read information from, and write information to, memory modules 216 and 234, respectively. The memory modules 216 and 234 may also be integrated into their respective processor modules 210 and 230. In some embodiments, the memory modules 216 and 234 may each include a cache memory for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions to be executed by processor modules 210 and 230, respectively. Memory modules 216 and 234 may also each include non-volatile memory for storing instructions to be executed by the processor modules 210 and 230, respectively.

The network communication module 218 generally represents the hardware, software, firmware, processing logic, and/or other components of the base station 202 that enable bi-directional communication between base station transceiver 210 and other network components and communication nodes configured to communicate with the base station 202. For example, network communication module 218 may be configured to support internet or WiMAX traffic. In a typical deployment, without limitation, network communication module 218 provides an 802.3 Ethernet interface such that base station transceiver 210 can communicate with a conventional Ethernet based computer network. In this manner, the network communication module 218 may include a physical interface for connection to the computer network (e.g., Mobile Switching Center (MSC) ) . The terms “configured for, ” “configured to” and conjugations thereof, as used herein with respect to a specified operation or function, refer to a device, component, circuit, structure, machine, signal, etc., that is physically constructed, programmed, formatted and/or arranged to perform the specified operation or function.

The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) Model (referred to herein as, “open system interconnection model” ) is a conceptual and logical layout that defines network communication used by systems (e.g., wireless communication device, wireless communication node) open to interconnection and communication with other systems. The model is broken into seven subcomponents, or layers, each of which represents a conceptual collection of services provided to the layers above and below it. The OSI Model also defines a logical network and effectively describes computer packet transfer by using different layer protocols. The OSI Model may also be referred to as the seven-layer OSI Model or the seven-layer model. In some embodiments, a first layer may be a physical layer. In some embodiments, a second layer may be a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer. In some embodiments, a third layer may be a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer. In some embodiments, a fourth layer may be a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer. In some embodiments, a fifth layer may be a Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer. In some embodiments, a sixth layer may be a Non-Access Stratum (NAS) layer or an Internet Protocol (IP) layer, and the seventh layer being the other layer.

Various example embodiments of the present solution are described below with reference to the accompanying figures to enable a person of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the present solution. As would be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, various changes or modifications to the examples described herein can be made without departing from the scope of the present solution. Thus, the present solution is not limited to the example embodiments and applications described and illustrated herein. Additionally, the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed herein are merely example approaches. Based upon design preferences, the specific order or hierarchy of steps of the disclosed methods or processes can be re-arranged while remaining within the scope of the present solution. Thus, those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the methods and techniques disclosed herein present various steps or acts in a sample order, and the present solution is not limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented unless expressly stated otherwise.

2. Systems and Methods for Performing UL Capacity Enhancement

Uplink (UL) coverage enhancements are proposed/specified in new radio terrestrial networks (NR TN) and/or non-terrestrial networks (NTN) , such as repetitions. However, the use of repetitions can significantly reduce the system’s capacity and/or the individual user’s throughput. In certain implementations, repetitions can increase the UE transmission time, thereby driving higher utilization of UL resources in the time domain before they can be released to other users. In the deployment of NR NTN, the system can be heavily resource-limited, particularly in the UL, where a limited spectrum can be anticipated for the deployment of NR NTN services. In certain implementations, the UL capacity enhancement can be used for TN and/or NTN networks to resolve the UL capacity issue.

Referring now to FIG. 3, depicted is an example illustration of NTN. As shown in FIG. 3, the link between UE and satellite can function as a service link. The link between BS and satellite can function as a feeder link, common for all UEs within the same cell. In certain implementations, the duration of PUSCH transmission can be configured within the structure RRC parameter PUSCH-TimeDomainResourceAllocation information element using the TDRA list with parameters such as startSymbolAndLength, startSymbolAndLength-r16, or length-r16. Additionally, the repetition number can be configured by the parameter numberOfRepetitions or numberOfRepetitionsExt-r17.

In certain implementations, the PUSCH-TimeDomainResourceAllocation information element can be configured as follows:

In certain implementations, the PUSCH-TimeDomainResourceAllocation information element (IE) can be used to configure a time domain relationship between physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) . In some implementations, the PUSCH-TimeDomainResourceAllocationList can include one or more PUSCH-TimeDomainResourceAllocations. Additionally, the network can indicate in the UL grant which of the configured time domain allocations the UE is to apply for. In certain implementations, the UE can determine the bit width of the downlink control information (DCI) field based on the number of entries in the PUSCH-TimeDomainResourceAllocationList. For example, in the DCI field, the value 0 may refer to the first element in the list, the value 1 to the second element, and so forth.

In certain implementations, the TDRA field in DCI format 0_1 can be used to illustrate the procedure to schedule a PUSCH transmission by a DCI. In certain implementations, the time domain resource assignment can be 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 bits. In certain implementations, where the higher-layer parameter pusch-TimeDomainAllocationListDCI-0-1 is not configured and/or the higher-layer parameter pusch-TimeDomainAllocationListForMultiPUSCH is not configured, but the higher-layer parameter pusch-TimeDomainAllocationList is configured, the time domain resource assignment/allocation can be provided/indicated using 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4 bits. In certain implementations, the bitwidth for this field can be determined asbits, where I is the number of entries in the higher layer parameter pusch-TimeDomainAllocationList. In certain implementations, where the higher layer parameter pusch-TimeDomainAllocationListDCI-0-1 is configured and/or the higher layer parameter pusch-TimeDomainAllocationListForMultiPUSCH is configured, the time domain resource assignment/allocation can be 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 bits. In certain implementations, the bitwidth for this field can be determined as bits, where I is the number of entries in the higher layer parameter pusch-TimeDomainAllocationListDCI-0-1 or pusch-TimeDomainAllocationListForMultiPUSCH. In certain implementations, the bitwidth for this field can be determined asbits, where I is the number of entries in the default table.

In certain implementations, where repetitions are configured for PUSCH, the data and the associated demodulation reference signal (DMRS) can be the same in each repetition, with the same redundancy versions among repetitions. However, in certain implementations involving multiplexing multiple UEs in the same frequency and/or time domain resources, the data parts can be multiplexed in a non-orthogonal way/manner, which may increase the decoding complexity to eliminate interference from other UEs. In certain implementations, to introduce orthogonality among UEs, each UE may use a sequence multiplied by its data part. In certain implementations, this may allow/enable the UE to be distinguished by its sequence, allowing for the extraction of the data part from the multiplexed signals. For example, consider the sequence [+1 +1; +1 -1] : UE1 selects the sequence [+1 +1] , and UE2 selects the sequence [+1 -1] . Each UE can have two repetitions with the same content. UE1 and UE2 can transmit X1 and X2, respectively, at the same time and/or frequency domain resources. As a result, the superimposed signal can be denoted as Y1 and Y2 at the positions of the first and second repetitions. Additionally, as depicted in FIG. 4, X1 and X2 can be calculated as functions of Y1 and Y2 and their corresponding channel state information.

In certain embodiments, a sequence can be applied to the data part of the repetitions in the sequence design. In certain implementations, the sequence may refer to an OCC (orthogonal cover code) sequence or a NOMA (non-orthogonal multiple access) sequence, among others. In some implementations, the OCC sequence can be based on DFT sequence, Walsh sequence, ZC sequence, CAZAC sequence, or Hadamard matrix, among others.

In certain implementations, the OCC sequence with different sequence lengths can be shown as below:

A UE can determine one or more sequences with sequence index (es) , as shown above, and can apply the sequence (s) to the data transmission.

In certain implementations, the multiply operation can happen in the time domain or frequency domain, e.g., before or after the IFFT operation on the transmitter side. In certain implementations/options (e.g., Option 1) , the sequence can be applied across repetitions. In certain implementations/options (e.g., Option 1-1) , where the redundancy version is the same for repetitions, the sequence can be directly applied across the repetitions. In certain implementations, the sequence can be denoted as S= [s₁, s₂, ..., s_N] , where N is the sequence length, which is equal to the number of repetitions, configured by the BS via RRC, system information, MAC CE or DCI, or determined by RSRP (e.g. DL reference signal, SSB or CSI-RS) . In certain implementations, when the RSRP is larger than or equal to a threshold, the sequence length equals to a first value, otherwise, the sequence length equals to a second value. In certain implementations, the threshold is configured by BS via RRC, system information, MAC CE or DCI. In certain implementations, s₁ can be multiplied by the data part of the 1^st repetition, s₂ by the data part of the 2^nd repetition, and so on, up to s_N, which is multiplied by the data part of the Nth repetition.

In certain implementations, a repetition can refer to a slot or a mini-slot, with the mini-slot being used in the URLLC scenario and/or occupying several symbols. In some implementations, the symbols may be treated more as slots instead of individual symbols. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a UE can be configured with four repetitions (e.g., each with 4 symbols and/or 12 REs) . The UE can determine its sequence as [+1 -1 +1 -1] , resulting in a transmission pattern for the UE.

In certain implementations/options (e.g., Option 1-2) , the redundancy versions can vary for repetitions. For example, a sequence can be applied across repetitions with the same redundancy version, while the same or different sequences can be applied to repetitions with different redundancy versions. In certain implementations, repetitions can be configured with different redundancy versions, and repetitions with different redundancy versions may have different contents, which may not be able to perform sequence application. As a result, the sequence can be applied across repetitions with the same redundancy versions, while different sequences can be used for repetitions with different/varying redundancy versions.

In certain implementations, for each redundancy version “i” , the sequence can be denoted as S_i= [s_i, 1, s_i, 2, ..., s_i, N] , where N is the sequence length. In certain implementations, N is equal to the number of repetitions or number of redundancy versions. In certain implementations, N is configured by the BS via RRC, system information, MAC CE or DCI, or determined by RSRP (e.g., DL reference signal, SSB or CSI-RS) . In certain implementations, when the RSRP is larger than or equal to a threshold, the sequence length equals to a first value, otherwise, the sequence length equals to a second value. In certain implementations, the threshold is configured by BS via RRC, system information, MAC CE or DCI. In certain implementations, s_i, 1 can be multiplied by the 1^st repetition with i_th redundancy version, s_i, 2 by the 2^nd repetition with i_th redundancy version, and so on, up to s_i, N, which is multiplied by the Nth repetition with i_th redundancy version. As a result, the sequences can be different for repetitions with different/varying redundancy versions.

In certain implementations, for each redundancy version, the same sequence can be applied to the set of repetitions with the same redundancy version. As shown in FIG. 6, eight repetitions can be configured in a data transmission with redundancy versions {0, 3, 0, 3} , which may mean/indicate that repetitions {1, 3, 5, 7} use redundancy version 0 and repetitions {2, 4, 6, 8} use redundancy version 3. As a result, two sequences can be used for this data transmission. For example, sequence 1 can be applied to repetitions {1, 3, 5, 7} with redundancy version 0, and sequence 2 can be applied to repetitions {2, 4, 6, 8} with redundancy version 3. In certain implementations, sequence 1 can be applied to repetitions {1, 3, 5, 7} , and the same sequence can also be applied to repetitions {2, 4, 6, 8} .

In certain implementations/options (e.g., Option 1a) , a sequence can be applied across repetition groups, as shown in connection with FIG. 7. The sequence can be denoted as S= [s₁, s₂, ..., s_N] , where N is the sequence length. In certain implementations, N is equal to the number of repetition groups. In certain implementations, N is configured by the BS via RRC, system information, MAC CE or DCI, or determined by RSRP (e.g., DL reference signal, SSB or CSI-RS) . In certain implementations, when the RSRP is larger than or equal to a threshold, the sequence length equals to a first value, otherwise, the sequence length equals to a second value. In certain implementations, the threshold is configured by BS via RRC, system information, MAC CE or DCI. In each group, there can be one or more repetitions. In certain implementations, s₁ can be multiplied by the data part of the 1^st repetition group, s₂ by the data part of the 2^nd repetition group, and so on, up to s_N, which is multiplied by the data part of the Nth repetition group. In certain implementations, Option 1 can be regarded as a special case of Option 1a when the number of repetitions is one in each repetition group.

In certain implementations, there can be one or more options/configurations, with or without considering the redundancy versions. For example, in certain configurations/options, where the redundancy version is the same for repetition groups, the sequence can be directly applied across the repetition groups. In certain options/configurations, where the redundancy versions can be different for repetition groups, the sequence can be applied across repetition groups with the same redundancy version.

In certain implementations/options (e.g., Option 1b) , a sequence can be applied across repetitions within a repetition group, as shown in FIG. 7. For each repetition group i, the sequence can be denoted as S_i= [s_i, 1, s_i, 2, ..., s_i, N] , where N is the sequence length. In certain implementations, N is equal to the number of repetitions within a repetition group. In certain implementations, N is configured by the BS via RRC, system information, MAC CE or DCI, or determined by RSRP (e.g. DL reference signal, SSB or CSI-RS) . In certain implementations, when the RSRP is larger than or equal to a threshold, the sequence length equals to a first value, otherwise, the sequence length equals to a second value. In certain implementations, the threshold is configured by BS via RRC, system information, MAC CE or DCI. In certain implementations, s_i, 1 can be multiplied by the 1^st repetition within the i_th repetition group, s_i, 2 by the 2^nd repetition within the i_th repetition group, and so on, up to s_i, N, which is multiplied by the Nth repetition within the i_th repetition group. In certain implementations, the sequences can be the same or different for different/varying repetition groups. In certain implementations, where the number of repetition groups is one, Option 1b can fall back to Option 1.

In certain implementations/options (e.g., Option 1b-1) , where the redundancy version is the same for repetitions, a sequence can be directly applied across repetitions within a repetition group, or the same or different sequences can be applied to different/varying repetition groups. In certain implementations/options (e.g., Option 1b-2) , where the redundancy versions are different for repetitions, a sequence can be applied across repetitions with the same redundancy version within a repetition group, or the same or different sequences can be applied to different repetition groups.

In certain implementations/options (e.g., Option 2) , a sequence can be applied across symbols. In certain implementations/options (e.g., Option 2-1) , the repetition pattern is determined first, and different sequences can then be applied to different symbols at the same positions in these repetitions, as shown in FIG. 8. For each symbol i, the sequence can be denoted as S_i= [s_i, 1, s_i, 2, ..., s_i, N] , where N is the sequence length. In certain implementations, N is equal to the number of repetitions. In certain implementations, N is configured by the BS via RRC, system information, MAC CE or DCI, or determined by RSRP (e.g., DL reference signal, SSB or CSI-RS) . In certain implementations, when the RSRP is larger than or equal to a threshold, the sequence length equals to a first value, otherwise, the sequence length equals to a second value. In certain implementations, the threshold is configured by BS via RRC, system information, MAC CE or DCI. In certain implementations, s_i, 1 can be multiplied by the i_th data symbol of the 1^st repetition, s_i, 2 by the i_th data symbol of the 2^nd repetition, and so on, up to s_i, N, which can be multiplied by the i_th data symbol of the Nth repetition. As a result, the sequences can be different for different symbols. The multiply operation can happen in the time domain or frequency domain, e.g., before or after the IFFT operation on the transmitter side. For example, a UE can be configured with four repetitions (e.g., each with 4 symbols and/or 12 REs) . The UE can determine its sequence as S1 = [+1 -1 +1 -1] for the first symbol, S2 = [-1 +1 -1 +1] for the second symbol, S3 = [+1 +1 -1 -1] for the third symbol, and S4 = [-1 -1 +1 +1] for the fourth symbol, resulting in a transmission pattern for the UE.

In certain implementations/options (e.g., Option 2-2) , total X symbols, based on the legacy time domain resource assignment (TDRA) table, can be divided into several groups, each with Y symbols. The sequence can be applied to each group of Y symbols, and the repetition pattern can be subsequently determined. The duration of PUSCH transmission is defined by the TDRA table (e.g., startSymbolAndLength) configured in RRC, denoted as X. In certain implementations, an additional parameter, Y, can be introduced. In some implementations, the parameter Y can represent the number of symbols in one symbol group, where each symbol group serves as the unit for performing repetitions.

In certain implementations, from a configuration perspective, Y can be a predefined value (e.g., 1) , an explicit RRC parameter, or implicitly derived by using floor (X/repetition number) or ceil (X/repetition number) . In certain implementations, where Y is equal to one, each symbol may be a unit for performing repetitions, with each symbol group including one symbol. In certain implementations, within a symbol group, the Y symbols may apply the same element of the sequence. Additionally, the determination of the TB size is to be based on the time domain symbol Y instead of X. For example, each group of X symbols can be regarded as different transport blocks, and the number of transport blocks can be calculated as floor (X/Y) . In certain implementations, where the X/Y is not an integer, the last TB may include (X-Y*repetition number) *repetition number. In this regard, the last TB may not apply the sequence or apply a sequence with a length of (X-Y*repetition number) .

In certain implementations, for the i_th transport block (TB) , the sequence can be denoted as S_i= [s_i, 1, s_i, 2, ..., s_i, N] , where N is the sequence length, which is also equal to the number of repetitions or floor (X/Y) . In certain implementations, s_i, 1 can be multiplied by the first symbol group in the i_th transport block, s_i, 2 by the second symbol group in the i_th transport block, and so on, up to s_i, N, which is multiplied by the Nth symbol group in the i_th transport block. As a result, the sequences can be different for different transport blocks.

Referring now to FIG. 9, depicted is an illustration demonstrating the difference between Option 2-1 and Option 2-2. In certain implementations, the legacy resource mapping mechanism is not changed in Option 2-1, i.e. one PUSCH with duration X is repeated as a bundle, a sequence is additionally applied on the PUSCH where resource mapping is legacy mechanism. In certain implementations, the legacy resource mapping is changed, i.e. the repeated unit is no longer duration X, and a sequence is additionally applied on the PUSCH based on the new resource mapping mechanism. In certain implementations, where there are four symbols (e.g., X = 4) allocated to the PUSCH transmission and/or four repetitions are configured, in option 2-2, these four symbols can be divided into four symbol groups. In each symbol group, there can be one symbol (e.g., Y = 1) , and/or each symbol group can be repeated four times. In Option 2-1, the symbols with index {1 5 9 13} can have the same content, and the sequence S1 can be applied to these four symbols. Conversely, in Option 2-2, the symbols with index {1 2 3 4} can have the same content, and the sequence S1 can be applied to these four symbols.

Regarding the time domain location in a slot for Option 2-2, the DMRS location within a slot can be maintained by reusing the legacy DMRS pattern. In certain implementations, where the data transmission crosses a slot boundary, several implementations may arise. For example, if a TB crosses a slot boundary and a symbol group within the TB also crosses the slot boundary, there can be the following alternatives: Alt 1, deferring the symbol group to the start of the next slot; Alt 2, deferring the entire/whole TB to the start of the next slot; or Alt 3, taking no action. In certain implementations, if a symbol group does not cross the slot boundary, the alternatives may include deferring the whole TB to the start of the next slot (Alt 2) or taking no action (Alt 3) . In cases/implementations where the TB does not cross the slot boundary, no action may be required.

In certain implementations/options (e.g., Option 3) , the sequence can be applied within a symbol (or across REs) , as shown in FIG. 10. For each RE i, the sequence can be denoted as S_i= [s_i, 1, s_i, 2, ..., s_i, N] , where N is the sequence length, which is also equal to the number of repetitions. In certain implementations, s_i, 1 can be multiplied by the data symbol in the i_th RE of the 1^st repetition, s_i, 2 by the data symbol in the i_th RE of the 2^nd repetition, and so on, up to s_i, N, which can be multiplied by the data symbol in the i_th RE of the Nth repetition. As a result, the sequences can be different for different REs. The multiply operation can happen in the time domain or frequency domain, e.g., before or after the IFFT operation on the transmitter side.

In certain implementations, UE determines whether UE multiplexing (or sequence application) is enabled (or activated) or disabled (or deactivated) via explicit signaling from the gNB or implicitly. In this regard, at least one of the following alternatives/implementations may be considered:

● Alt a1: A new parameter can be introduced in the system information, RRC, MAC CE, or DCI to indicate whether UE multiplexing is enabled (or activated) or disabled (or deactivated) .

■ Alt a1-1: The parameter can be included in system information, e.g., SIB1, to indicate all UEs in a cell whether UE multiplexing is enabled or disabled; if enabled, all the UEs can apply the sequence to the data transmission.

■ Alt a1-2: The parameter can be included in the RRC message to indicate to each UE whether UE multiplexing is enabled or disabled; if enabled, the UE can apply the sequence to the data transmission until another RRC message is received to change the parameter to disabled.

■ Alt a1-3: The parameter can be included in MAC CE to indicate to each UE whether UE multiplexing is enabled or disabled; if enabled, the UE can apply the sequence to the data transmission until another MAC CE is received to change the parameter to disabled.

■ Alt a1-4: The parameter can be included in the DCI to indicate to each UE whether UE multiplexing is enabled or disabled; if enabled, the UE can apply the sequence to the data transmission scheduled by the DCI.

● Alt a2: UE determines whether UE multiplexing (or sequence application) is enabled (or activated) or disabled (or deactivated) based on a DL RSRP and/or a threshold.

■ The DL RSRP is based on at least one of the SSB or CSI-RS.

■ In certain implementations, when the RSRP is larger/greater than or equal to a threshold, the UE multiplexing (or sequence application) is enabled; otherwise, the UE multiplexing (or sequence application) is disabled. In certain implementations, the threshold is configured by BS via RRC, system information, MAC CE or DCI.

In certain implementations, more than one method of sequence application can be used by the UE. In some implementations, the UE determines which method of sequence application is selected via explicit signaling from the gNB or implicitly. In certain implementations, the method of sequence application can refer to different units (e.g., across repetitions, across slots, across symbols, across REs, and so on) or different options (e.g., Option 1, Option 2, Option 2-2, and so on) . In this regard, at least one of the following alternatives may be considered:

● Alt b1: A new parameter can be introduced in the system information, RRC, MAC CE, or DCI, to indicate which method for sequence application is selected. In certain implementations, one value of the parameter refers to one method for sequence application, and another value of the parameter refers to another method for sequence application.

■ Alt b1-1: The parameter can be included in system information, e.g., SIB1, to indicate all UEs in a cell whose method for sequence application is selected.

■ Alt b1-2: The parameter can be included in the RRC message to indicate to each UE which method for sequence application is selected. In certain implementations, the UE can apply the sequence using the method to the data transmission until another RRC message is received to change the method to another one.

■ Alt b1-3: The parameter can be included in MAC CE to indicate to each UE which method for sequence application is selected. In certain implementations, the UE can apply the sequence using the method to the data transmission until another MAC CE is received to change the method to another one.

■ Alt b1-4: The parameter can be included in the DCI to indicate to each UE which method for sequence application is selected. In certain implementations, the UE can apply the sequence using the method to the data transmission scheduled by the DCI.

● Alt b2: UE determines which method for sequence application is selected based on a DL RSRP and/or a threshold.

■ The DL RSRP is based on at least one of the SSB or CSI-RS.

■ In certain implementations, when the RSRP is larger/greater than or equal to a threshold, a method for sequence application is selected or applied; otherwise, another method for sequence application is selected or applied. In certain implementations, the threshold is configured by BS via RRC, system information, MAC CE, or DCI.

In certain implementations, for contention-free transmission, e.g., PUSCH transmission scheduled by DCI, RAR, or configured grant PUSCH transmission, the UE can determine the sequence via explicit signaling from the gNB or implicitly from other parameters. In this regard, at least one of the following alternatives may be considered:

● Alt 1: Aplurality of sequences can be pre-defined or broadcasted, and/or a sequence index can be indicated in explicit signaling.

■ Alt 1-1: Re-interpret/repurpose/redefine the existing redundancy version field in DCI.

◆ For dynamic grant based PUSCH, the redundancy version field can occupy/include two or more bits for UE to determine the redundancy version. However, if multiple UEs are multiplexed in these repetitions, it may be guaranteed that the content of each repetition is the same, so there is no need to indicate a redundancy version in DCI. The field can be re-interpreted to indicate the sequence index (e.g., OCC index) . As a result, the RV for all repetitions can be zero.

◆ An example is provided as shown below, where if multiplexing is enabled, the RV field can be used to indicate the sequence index; otherwise, the RV field continues to be used for indicating the RV id.

■ Alt 1-2: Re-interpret/repurpose/redefine the existing RRC parameter repK-RV.

◆ The RRC parameter repK-RV can be used to indicate the RV id of each repetition for configured grant PUSCH transmission, but in the UE multiplexing case, the content of each repetition is to be the same, so this parameter may no longer be used when multiplexing is enabled. In certain implementations, a 2-bit RRC parameter can be used to indicate the sequence index. As a result, the RV for all repetitions can be zero.

■ Alt 1-3: Introduce a new RRC parameter.

◆ This parameter can be, e.g., sequenceIndex; the bit length is log2 (maximum number of sequences) . In certain implementations, this parameter can be used to select one sequence from a pre-defined or broadcasted set of sequences.

◆ This parameter can be found/determined under IE PUSCH-TimeDomainResourceAllocation. In each TDRA row, the PUSCH configuration can be associated with a sequence index. In certain implementations, this can be used for dynamic grant based PUSCH transmission.

◆ This parameter can be found/determined under IE ConfiguredGrantConfig. In certain implementations, this can be used for configured grant based PUSCH transmission in an RRC-connected state (e.g., normal CG PUSCH) or an RRC-inactive state (e.g., CG-SDT) .

■ Alt 1-4: Introduce a new DCI field.

◆ The DCI field can be, e.g., a sequenceIndex field; the bit width is log2 (maximum number of sequences) . In certain implementations, this field can be used to select one sequence from a pre-defined or broadcasted set of sequences.

■ Alt 1-4: Introduce a new field in RAR.

◆ There can be 1 bit reserved in the RAR payload and/or 1 bit reserved in the RAR subheader. In certain implementations, they can be jointly used to indicate sequence index.

● Alt 2: A plurality of sequences can be pre-defined or broadcasted; the sequence index can be implicitly determined according to or as a function of at least one of repetition number, redundancy version, the DMRS port index (or antenna port index) , C-RNTI, or UE ID.

■ Alt 2-1: A sequence index is determined according to or as a function of the DMRS port index and/or repetition number.

◆ For example, sequence index = mod (DMRS port index, repetition number) .

■ Alt 2-2: A sequence index is determined according to or as a function of DMRS port index, C-RNTI, and/or repetition number.

■ Alt 2-3: A sequence index is determined according to or as a function of C-RNTI and/or repetition number.

■ Alt 2-4: A sequence index is determined according to or as a function of the DMRS port index, UE ID, and/or repetition number.

■ Alt 2-5: A sequence index is determined according to or as a function of UE ID and/or repetition number.

■ Alt 2-6: A sequence index is determined according to or as a function of the DMRS port index.

◆ For example, sequence index = mod (DMRS port index, maximum sequence number) , where the maximum sequence number can be derived via a pre-defined or broadcasted set of sequences.

◆ In some implementations, the association between DMRS port index and sequence index is pre-defined or broadcasted, e.g., via a table as shown below, when DMRS port index is determined, the associated sequence index is determined according to the association relationship.

■ Alt 2-7: A sequence index is determined according to or as a function of C-RNTI.

■ Alt 2-8: A sequence index is determined according to or as a function of the DMRS port index, redundancy version, and/or repetition number.

■ Alt 2-9: A sequence index is determined according to or as a function of the DMRS port index and/or redundancy version.

In certain implementations, for contention-based transmission, e.g., MsgA PUSCH, there may be no dedicated signaling prior to the transmission. As a result, the UE is to determine the sequence index independently. In this regard, the following alternatives can be considered:

● Alt 3: The set of sequences can be pre-defined or broadcasted via system information block (SIB) ; UE randomly selects the sequence index (independent from RO or preamble index) .

■ In this alternative, the UE may not associate sequence index with PRACH, so it may be possible that two UEs select the same preamble index but select a different sequence index. In certain implementations, the BS may realize/determine that there are two UEs trying to access the network with a conflict preamble index.

● Alt 4: UE determines the sequence index according to or as a function of the preamble index, RO index, SSB index, time domain resource of RO, frequency domain resource of RO, or RA-RNTI.

■ Alt 4-1: A sequence index is determined according to or as a function of preamble index.

◆ For example, sequence index = mod (preamble index, maximum sequence number) , where the maximum sequence number can be derived via a pre-defined or broadcasted set of sequences.

■ Alt 4-2: A sequence index is determined according to or as a function of the preamble index and/or RO index.

■ Alt 4-3: A sequence index is determined according to or as a function of the preamble index and/or the time domain resource of RO.

■ Alt 4-4: A sequence index is determined according to or as a function of the preamble index and/or the SSB index.

■ Alt 4-5: A sequence index is determined according to or as a function of the preamble index, the time domain resource of RO, or the frequency domain resource of RO.

■ Alt 4-6: A sequence index is determined according to or as a function of RA-RNTI.

■ Alt 4-7: A sequence index is determined according to or as a function of the preamble index and/or RA-RNTI.

■ Alt 4-8: A sequence index is determined according to or as a function of the RO index and/or RA- RNTI.

In certain implementations, there can be one or more methods to determine a sequence, which may vary in different scenarios. For example, where the configured grant PUSCH transmission occurs in the RRC-connected state or inactive state, alternatives 1-2 or 1-3 may be applicable. In some examples/implementations, for PUSCH transmissions scheduled with DCI format 0_0, 0_1, 0_2, including msg3 re-transmission, where the repetitions are configured in the TDRA table, the sequence index can be directly indicated in DCI, as in alternatives 1-1 or 1-4. In certain implementations, the sequence index can be jointly indicated in the TDRA table in the RRC, as in alternatives 1-2 or 1-3. In some examples, for initial msg3 transmission, alternatives 1-5 may be applicable.

In some examples/implementations, for msgA PUSCH transmission with contention-free random access, where additional repetition numbers are indicated via RRC or DCI signaling, the sequence index can be indicated in RRC, as in alternatives 1-2 or 1-3. In some examples/implementations, for msgA PUSCH transmission with contention-based random access, the repetition number can be determined implicitly via ROs or preambles, or explicitly by broadcast signals. After determining the repetition number, the UE can further determine the sequence based on alternative 3 or 4. In some examples, alternative a or b can be jointly used with other alternatives, such as 1-1, 1-2, 2, 3, or 4. In this regard, the re-interpretation of existing RRC parameters or DCI fields, or the implicit determination of the sequence index, can be used when multiplexing is enabled.

Referring now to FIG. 11, which illustrates a flow diagram of a method 1100 for performing UL capacity enhancement. The method 1100 may be implemented using any of the components and devices detailed herein in conjunction with FIGS. 1–10. In an overview, method 1100 may include a wireless communication device (e.g., user equipment (UE) ) determining a configuration for applying at least one sequence to an uplink transmission (STEP 1102) . The method may include the wireless communication device applying, according to the configuration, the at least one sequence to the uplink transmission (STEP 1104) . The method may include a wireless communication node (e.g., BS, gNB) receiving/obtaining/acquiring an uplink transmission from the wireless communication device (STEP 1106) . In some embodiments, the method 1100 is performed by other entities. In some embodiments, the method 1100 includes more, fewer, or different steps than shown in FIG. 11.

In certain configurations, a wireless communication device (e.g., user equipment (UE) ) can determine a configuration for applying at least one sequence to an uplink transmission (STEP 1102) . In certain implementations, the wireless communication device can apply, according to the configuration, at least one sequence to the uplink transmission (STEP 1104) . In certain configurations, the uplink transmission may include at least one of the following: a plurality of repetitions of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission scheduled by a downlink control information (DCI) signaling; a plurality of repetitions of a PUSCH transmission scheduled by at least one of a random access response (RAR) message or a fallback RAR message; a plurality of repetitions of a PUSCH transmission in a random access procedure (e.g., MsgA PUSCH) ; or a plurality of repetitions of a configured grant PUSCH transmission. In certain configurations, applying at least one sequence may include applying at least one sequence to one or more units of the uplink transmission. In certain configurations, the one or more units of the uplink transmission may include at least one of the following: one or more repetition groups, one or more repetitions, one or more slots, one or more symbols, one or more resource elements (REs) , or one or more resource blocks (RBs) .

In certain configurations, applying at least one sequence may include applying a first sequence to a data portion of one or more repetitions of the uplink transmission. In some implementations, applying at least one sequence may include applying a first element of the first sequence to a data portion of a first repetition of the uplink transmission. In some implementations, applying at least one sequence may include applying a first sequence or a second sequence to a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) portion of one or more repetitions of the uplink transmission. In some implementations, applying at least one sequence may include multiplying each element of the first sequence to a data portion of a respective repetition of the repetitions. In some implementations, multiplying the first sequence may include multiplying the first sequence in the time domain or in the frequency domain. In some implementations, at least one sequence may include at least one of the following: an orthogonal cover code (OCC) sequence, a non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) sequence, or a sequence based on a discrete Fourier transform (DFT) sequence, a Walsh sequence, a Zadoff-Chu (ZC) sequence, or a Hadamard matrix or code.

In certain configurations, the configuration can indicate whether to apply a first sequence across the repetitions. In certain configurations, the repetitions can have the same redundancy version (RV) . In some implementations, the length of the first sequence can be equal to the number of repetitions. In some implementations, each element of the first sequence can be multiplied by a respective one of the repetitions. In some implementations, each repetition can refer to a slot or a mini-slot. In certain configurations, the repetitions can have at least two redundancy versions (RVs) . In some implementations, the configuration can indicate to apply a first sequence across a first subset of the repetitions that has a first RV. In some implementations, the configuration can indicate whether to apply the first sequence or a second sequence across a second subset of the repetitions that has a second RV. In some implementations, the length of the first sequence can be equal to the number of repetitions divided by the number of unique RVs. In some implementations, each element of the first sequence can be multiplied by a respective one of the first subset of repetitions.

In certain configurations, the configuration can indicate whether to apply a first sequence across repetition groups that comprise the repetitions. In certain configurations, the repetition groups can have the same redundancy version (RV) . In some implementations, the length of the first sequence can be equal to the number of repetition groups. In some implementations, each element of the first sequence can be multiplied by a respective one of the repetition groups. In certain configurations, the repetition groups can have at least two redundancy versions (RVs) . In some implementations, the configuration can indicate to apply a first sequence across a first subset of the repetition groups that has a first RV. In some implementations, the configuration can indicate whether to apply the first sequence or a second sequence across a second subset of the repetition groups that has a second RV. In some implementations, the length of the first sequence is equal to the number of repetition groups divided by the number of unique RVs. In some implementations, each element of the first sequence can be multiplied by a respective one of the first subset of repetition groups.

In certain configurations, the configuration can indicate whether to apply a first sequence across repetitions within a first repetition group. In some implementations, the configuration can indicate whether to apply the first sequence or a second sequence across repetitions within a second repetition group. In some implementations, the length of the first sequence can be equal to the number of repetitions within the first repetition group. In some implementations, the length of the first sequence can be the same as the length of the second sequence. In some implementations, the length of the first sequence can be different from the length of the second sequence. In some implementations, the first repetition group can have a same number of repetitions as the second repetition group. In some implementations, the first repetition group can have a different number of repetitions than the second repetition group.

In certain configurations, the repetitions within the first repetition group can have the same redundancy version (RV) . In some implementations, each element of the first sequence can be multiplied by a respective one of the repetitions within the first repetition group. In some implementations, each element of the first sequence or the second sequence can be multiplied by a respective one of the repetitions within the second repetition group. In certain configurations, the repetitions within a repetition group can have at least two redundancy versions (RVs) . In some implementations, the configuration can indicate whether to apply a first sequence across a first subset of the repetitions within the repetition group that has a first RV. In some implementations, the configuration can indicate whether to apply the first sequence or a second sequence across a second subset of the repetitions within the repetition group that has a second RV. In some implementations, each element of the first sequence can be multiplied by a respective one of the first subset of repetitions.

In certain configurations, the configuration can indicate whether to apply a first sequence across one or more symbols of the uplink transmission. In certain configurations, the length of the first sequence can be equal to the number of repetitions. In some implementations, the configuration can indicate whether to apply the first sequence across symbols having the same position across the repetitions. In some implementations, the configuration can indicate whether to apply a second sequence across symbols having a second same position across the repetitions. In some implementations, each element of the first sequence can be multiplied by a respective one of the symbols having the same position across the repetitions. Although elements of a sequence are described as being multiplied in various examples, other operations or adjustments such as division or offset, may be applied instead of multiplication.

In certain configurations, the symbols, including X symbols, can be divided/grouped/partitioned into symbol groups, each having/including Y symbols. In some implementations, X and Y can each be a respective positive integer value. In some implementations, the configuration can indicate whether to apply the first sequence across Y symbols of a first symbol group. In some implementations, the configuration can indicate whether to apply an element of the first sequence across the Y symbols of a first symbol group. In some implementations, Y may include at least one of the following: a defined value, a value of a radio resource control (RRC) parameter, or a value derived using a floor, or a ceiling function of (X divided by repetition number) . In some implementations, the length of the first sequence can be equal to the number of repetitions, or a floor function of (X divided by Y) . In certain configurations, the configuration can indicate whether to apply a first sequence across symbols in a first resource element (RE) of the repetitions. In some implementations, the length of the first sequence can be equal to the number of repetitions.

In certain configurations, the wireless communication device can receive/obtain/acquire a parameter from a wireless communication node. The parameter can indicate whether at least one of the following is enabled or disabled: multiplexing of wireless communication devices or application of at least one sequence to the repetitions. In some implementations, the parameter can indicate which method for sequence application is selected or the length of at least one sequence applied to the uplink transmission. In some implementations, the parameter can be included or indicated in at least one of the following: system information, radio resource control (RRC) signaling, medium access control control element (MAC CE) signaling, or downlink control information (DCI) signaling.

In certain configurations, the wireless communication device can determine at least one of the following: whether multiplexing of wireless communication devices or the application of at least one sequence to repetitions is enabled or disabled; which method for sequence application is selected; or the length of at least one sequence applied to the uplink transmission. In some implementations, the determination can be made according to at least one of a downlink (DL) reference signal received power (RSRP) or a threshold. In some implementations, the DL RSRP can be based on a synchronization signal block (SSB) or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) . In some implementations, the threshold may be included or indicated in one or more of the following: system information, radio resource control (RRC) signaling, or a medium access control control element (MAC CE) .

In certain configurations, the wireless communication device can determine a plurality of sequences (e.g., predefined or communicated to the UE) . In certain implementations, the wireless communication device can receive/obtain/acquire, from a wireless communication node (e.g., a base station (BS) ) , an indication of at least one sequence from the plurality of sequences to apply to the uplink transmission. In some implementations, the indication can be included or specified in at least one of the following: a redundancy version (RV) field or other field of a downlink control information (DCI) signaling, a repK-RV parameter or other parameter of a radio resource control (RRC) signaling, or a field in a random access response (RAR) message.

In certain configurations, the wireless communication device can determine a plurality of sequences. In certain implementations, the wireless communication device can determine (e.g., select, identify, activate) at least one sequence from the plurality of sequences according to at least one of the following: a repetition number, a redundancy version (RV) , a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) port index, a cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) , an identifier (ID) of the wireless communication device, or a maximum sequence number; a function of any one or more thereof; or a mod function of any two thereof. In certain configurations, the wireless communication device can determine a plurality of sequences (e.g., predefined or communicated to the UE via system information block (SIB) ) . In certain implementations, the wireless communication device can randomly determine at least one sequence from the plurality of sequences.

In certain configurations, the wireless communication device can determine at least one sequence according to at least one of the following: a preamble index, a random access occasion (RO) index, a synchronization signal block (SSB) index, a time domain resource of a RO, a frequency domain resource of a RO, or a random access radio network temporary identifier (RA-RNTI) ; a function of any one or more thereof; or a mod function of any two thereof. In certain configurations, a wireless communication node (e.g., BS, gNB) can receive an uplink transmission from a wireless communication device, where at least one sequence has been applied to the uplink transmission at the wireless communication device (STEP 1106) .

While various embodiments/implementations of the present solution have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not by way of limitation. Likewise, the various diagrams may depict an example architecture or configuration, which are provided to enable persons of ordinary skill in the art to understand example features and functions of the present solution. Such persons would understand, however, that the solution is not restricted to the illustrated example architectures or configurations but can be implemented using a variety of alternative architectures and configurations. Additionally, as would be understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art, one or multiple features of one embodiment/implementation can be combined with one or multiple features of another embodiment/implementation described herein. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the above-described illustrative embodiments.

It is also understood that any reference to an element herein using a designation such as “first, ” “second, ” and so forth does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. Rather, these designations can be used herein as a convenient means of distinguishing between two or more elements or instances of an element. Thus, a reference to first and second elements does not mean that only two elements can be employed, or that the first element must precede the second element in some manner.

Additionally, a person having ordinary skill in the art would understand that information and signals can be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, and symbols, which may be referenced in the above description, can be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

A person of ordinary skill in the art would further appreciate that any of the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, processors, means, circuits, methods and functions described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented by electronic hardware (e.g., a digital implementation, an analog implementation, or a combination of the two) , firmware, various forms of program or design code incorporating instructions (which can be referred to herein, for convenience, as “software” or a “software module) , or any combination of these techniques. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware, firmware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware, firmware or software, or a combination of these techniques, depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans can implement the described functionality in various ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions do not cause a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

Furthermore, a person of ordinary skill in the art would understand that various illustrative logical blocks, modules, devices, components, and circuits described herein can be implemented within or performed by an integrated circuit (IC) that can include a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP) , an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) , a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, or any combination thereof. The logical blocks, modules, and circuits can further include antennas and/or transceivers to communicate with various components within the network or within the device. A general purpose processor can be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor can be any conventional processor, controller, or state machine. A processor can also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or multiple microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suitable configuration to perform the functions described herein.

If implemented in software, the functions can be stored as one or multiple instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Thus, the steps of a method or algorithm disclosed herein can be implemented as software stored on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that can be enabled to transfer a computer program or code from one place to another. A storage media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer.

In this document, the term “module” as used herein, refers to software, firmware, hardware, and any combination of these elements for performing the associated functions described herein. Additionally, for purpose of discussion, the various modules are described as discrete modules; however, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, two or more modules may be combined to form a single module that performs the associated functions according to embodiments of the present solution.

Additionally, memory or other storage, as well as communication components, may be employed in embodiments of the present solution. It will be appreciated that, for clarity purposes, the above description has described embodiments of the present solution with reference to different functional units and processors. However, it will be apparent that any suitable distribution of functionality between different functional units, processing logic elements or domains may be used without detracting from the present solution. For example, functionality illustrated to be performed by separate processing logic elements, or controllers, may be performed by the same processing logic element, or controller. Hence, references to specific functional units are only references to a suitable means for providing the described functionality, rather than indicative of a strict logical or physical structure or organization.

Various modifications to the embodiments described in this disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be applied to other embodiments without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the novel features and principles disclosed herein, as recited in the claims below.

Claims

A method comprising:

determining, by a wireless communication device, a configuration for applying at least one sequence to an uplink transmission; and

applying, by the wireless communication device according to the configuration, the at least one sequence to the uplink transmission.
The method of claim 1, wherein the uplink transmission comprises at least one of:

a plurality of repetitions of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission scheduled by a downlink control information (DCI) signaling;

a plurality of repetitions of a PUSCH transmission scheduled by at least one of a random access response (RAR) message or a fallback RAR message;

a plurality of repetitions of a PUSCH transmission in a random access procedure; or

a plurality of repetitions of a configured grant PUSCH transmission.
The method of claim 1, wherein applying the at least one sequence comprises applying the at least one sequence to one or more units of the uplink transmission.
The method of claim 3, wherein the one or more units of the uplink transmission comprise at least one of:

one or more repetition groups,

one or more repetitions,

one or more slots,

one or more symbols,

one or more resource elements (REs) , or

one or more resource blocks (RBs) .
The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of:

applying the at least one sequence comprises applying a first sequence to a data portion of one or more repetitions of the uplink transmission;

applying the at least one sequence comprises applying a first element of the first sequence to a data portion of a first repetition of the uplink transmission;

applying the at least one sequence comprises applying a first sequence or a second sequence to a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) portion of one or more repetitions of the uplink transmission;

applying the at least one sequence comprises multiplying each element of the first sequence to a data portion of a respective repetition of the repetitions;

multiplying the first sequence comprises multiplying the first sequence in time domain or in frequency domain; or

the at least one sequence comprises at least one of: an orthogonal cover code (OCC) sequence, a non- orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) sequence, or a sequence based on a discrete Fourier transform (DFT) sequence, a Walsh sequence, a Zadoff-Chu (ZC) sequence, or a Hadamard matrix or code.
The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration indicates to apply a first sequence across the repetitions.
The method of claim 6, wherein at least one of:

the repetitions have a same redundancy version (RV) ;

length of the first sequence is equal to number of the repetitions;

each element of the first sequence is multiplied to a respective one of the repetitions; or

each of the repetitions refer to a slot or a mini-slot.
The method of claim 6, wherein at least one of:

the repetitions have at least two redundancy versions (RVs) ;

the configuration indicates to apply a first sequence across a first subset of the repetitions that has a first RV;

the configuration indicates to apply the first sequence or a second sequence across a second subset of the repetitions that has a second RV;

length of the first sequence is equal to number of the repetitions divided by number of unique RVs; or

each element of the first sequence is multiplied to a respective one of the first subset of repetitions.
The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration indicates to apply a first sequence across repetition groups that comprise the repetitions.
The method of claim 9, wherein at least one of:

the repetition groups have a same redundancy version (RV) ;

length of the first sequence is equal to number of the repetition groups; or

each element of the first sequence is multiplied to a respective one of the repetition groups.
The method of claim 9, wherein at least one of:

the repetition groups have at least two redundancy versions (RVs) ;

the configuration indicates to apply a first sequence across a first subset of the repetition groups that has a first RV;

the configuration indicates to apply the first sequence or a second sequence across a second subset of the repetition groups that has a second RV;

length of the first sequence is equal to number of the repetition groups divided by number of unique RVs; or

each element of the first sequence is multiplied to a respective one of the first subset of repetition groups.
The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of:

the configuration indicates to apply a first sequence across repetitions within a first repetition group;

the configuration indicates to apply the first sequence or a second sequence across repetitions within a second repetition group;

length of the first sequence is equal to number of repetitions within the first repetition group;

the length of the first sequence is same as the length of the second sequence;

the length of the first sequence is different from length of the second sequence;

the first repetition group has a same number of repetitions as the second repetition group; or

the first repetition group has a different number of repetitions from the second repetition group.
The method of claim 12, wherein at least one of:

the repetitions within the first repetition group have a same redundancy version (RV) ; or

each element of the first sequence is multiplied to a respective one of the repetitions within the first repetition group; or

each element of the first sequence or the second sequence is multiplied to a respective one of the repetitions within the second repetition group.
The method of claim12, wherein at least one of:

the repetitions within a repetition group have at least two redundancy versions (RVs) ;

the configuration indicates to apply a first sequence across a first subset of the repetitions within the repetition group that has a first RV;

the configuration indicates to apply the first sequence or a second sequence across a second subset of the repetitions within the repetition group that has a second RV; or

each element of the first sequence is multiplied to a respective one of the first subset of the repetitions.
The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration indicates to apply a first sequence across one or more symbols of the uplink transmission.
The method of claim 15, wherein at least one of:

length of the first sequence is equal to number of the repetitions;

the configuration indicates to apply the first sequence across symbols having a same position across the repetitions;

the configuration indicates to apply a second sequence across symbols having a second same position across the repetitions; or

each element of the first sequence is multiplied to a respective one of the symbols having the same position across the repetitions.
The method of claim 15, wherein at least one of:

the symbols comprise X symbols are divided into symbol groups each having Y symbols;

X and Y are each a respective positive integer value;

the configuration indicates to apply the first sequence across Y symbols of a first symbol group;

the configuration indicates to apply an element of the first sequence across the Y symbols of a first symbol group;

Y comprises at least one of: a defined value, a value of a radio resource control (RRC) parameter, or a value derived using a floor or ceiling function of (X divided by repetition number) ; or

length of the first sequence is equal to number of the repetitions or a floor function of (X divided by Y) .
The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of:

the configuration indicates to apply a first sequence across symbols in a first resource element (RE) of the repetitions; or

length of the first sequence is equal to number of the repetitions.
The method of claim 1, comprising:

receiving, by the wireless communication device from a wireless communication node, a parameter to indicate at least one of:

whether at least one of: multiplexing of wireless communication devices, or application of the at least one sequence to the repetitions, is enabled or disabled;

which method for sequence application is selected; or

a length of the at least one sequence applied to the uplink transmission,

wherein the parameter is included or indicated in at least one of: system information, radio resource control (RRC) signaling, medium access control control element (MAC CE) signaling, or downlink control information (DCI) signaling.
The method of claim 1, comprising:

determining, by the wireless communication device, according to at least one of a downlink (DL) reference signal received power (RSRP) or a threshold, at least one of:

whether at least one of: multiplexing of wireless communication devices, or application of the at least one sequence to the repetitions, is enabled or disabled;

which method for sequence application is selected; or

a length of the at least one sequence applied to the uplink transmission;

wherein at least one of:

the DL RSRP is based on at least one of synchronization signal block (SSB) or channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) ;

the threshold is included or indicated in at least one of: system information, radio resource control (RRC) signaling, medium access control control element (MAC CE) signaling, or downlink control information (DCI) signaling.
The method of claim 1, comprising:

determining, by the wireless communication device, a plurality of sequences; and

receiving, by the wireless communication device from a wireless communication node, an indication of the at least one sequence from the plurality of sequences, to apply to the uplink transmission,

wherein the indication is included or specified in at least one of: a redundancy version (RV) field or other field of a downlink control information (DCI) signaling, a repK-RV parameter or other parameter of a radio resource control (RRC) signaling, or a field in a random access response (RAR) message.
The method of claim 1, comprising:

determining, by the wireless communication device, a plurality of sequences; and

determining, by the wireless communication device, the at least one sequence from the plurality of sequences, according to at least one of:

a repetition number, a redundancy version (RV) , a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) port index, a cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) , an identifier (ID) of the wireless communication device, or a maximum sequence number;

a function of any one or more thereof; or

a mod function of any two thereof.
The method of claim 1, comprising:

determining, by the wireless communication device, a plurality of sequences; and

determining, randomly by the wireless communication device, the at least one sequence from the plurality of sequences.
The method of claim 1, comprising:

determining, by the wireless communication device, the at least one sequence according to at least one of:

a preamble index, a random access occasion (RO) index, a synchronization signal block (SSB) index, a time domain resource of a RO, a frequency domain resource of a RO, or a random access radio network temporary identifier (RA-RNTI) ;

a function of any one or more thereof; or

a mod function of any two thereof.
A method comprising:

receiving, by a wireless communication node from a wireless communication device, an uplink transmission,

wherein at least one sequence has been applied to the uplink transmission at the wireless communication device.
A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions, which when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method of any one of claims 1-25.
An apparatus comprising:

at least one processor configured to perform the method of any one of claims 1-25.