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WO2025209394A1 - Procédé et appareil d'attribution de ressources - Google Patents

Procédé et appareil d'attribution de ressources

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Publication number
WO2025209394A1
WO2025209394A1 PCT/CN2025/086159 CN2025086159W WO2025209394A1 WO 2025209394 A1 WO2025209394 A1 WO 2025209394A1 CN 2025086159 W CN2025086159 W CN 2025086159W WO 2025209394 A1 WO2025209394 A1 WO 2025209394A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
terminal device
terminal
devices
terminal devices
network node
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Pending
Application number
PCT/CN2025/086159
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Zhang Zhang
Min Wang
Henrik Enbuske
Ming Li
Bikramjit Singh
Emre YAVUZ
Andreas HÖGLUND
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
Original Assignee
Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB filed Critical Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
Publication of WO2025209394A1 publication Critical patent/WO2025209394A1/fr
Pending legal-status Critical Current
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W72/00—Local resource management
    • H04W72/20—Control channels or signalling for resource management
    • H04W72/23—Control channels or signalling for resource management in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W4/00—Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
    • H04W4/30—Services specially adapted for particular environments, situations or purposes
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W72/00—Local resource management
    • H04W72/20—Control channels or signalling for resource management
    • H04W72/21—Control channels or signalling for resource management in the uplink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards the network

Definitions

  • the present disclosure generally relates to communication networks, and more specifically, to a method and apparatus for resource allocation.
  • ZE devices may refer to wireless IoT devices that do not require battery replacement, and often harvest energy from the environment. In some use cases, such as monitoring the temperature of foodstuffs, the ZE devices may have small batteries that are disposable (e.g., organic, compostable batteries, etc. ) , rechargeable or have very limited capacity.
  • the ZE-IoT devices can in addition be of very small form factor and could even be printable and they target ultra-low power consumption to enable operation based on either energy-harvesting from an ambient sources or back-scattering communication (e.g., radio frequency identification (RFID) , etc. ) . That is, instead of relying on energy for communication being provided by a battery it is instead harvested from an ambient source, such as vibrations, solar power, radio frequency (RF) , etc. (in the harvesting case) , or a charge carrier wave (CW) is provided to the device which is modulated and reflected back to a reader (in the back-scattering communication case) . This enables energy autonomous operation during the lifetime of the devices without need for either manual replacement or charging of the batteries. Compared to existing radio access technologies, this may put new requirements on the radio interface and the protocols.
  • RFID radio frequency identification
  • An ambient IoT (A-IoT) user equipment (UE) may connect to a network node in various network (NW) topologies.
  • the A-IoT UE may communicate with the network node via an intermediate UE.
  • a Uu interface may support communications between the network node and the intermediate UE while a new interface may be used to support communications between the intermediate UE and the A-IoT UE.
  • an inventory/query procedure towards A-IoT UEs is initiated by an associated intermediate UE, e.g., in response to an inventory request from a core network (CN)
  • some resources may be needed by the A-IoT UEs to perform uplink (UL) communications. Therefore, it may be desirable to obtain communication resources for A-IoT use cases in an efficient way.
  • a solution for resource allocation may enable a first terminal device (e.g., an intermediate UE, an assisting device, a slave node, etc. ) serving one or more second terminal devices (e.g., ultra-low power devices, ZE-IoT devices, A-IoT devices, etc. ) to obtain resources from a network node and assign the resources to the one or more second terminal devices, so as to support communications of the one or more second terminal devices with the first terminal device and/or the network node.
  • a first terminal device e.g., an intermediate UE, an assisting device, a slave node, etc.
  • second terminal devices e.g., ultra-low power devices, ZE-IoT devices, A-IoT devices, etc.
  • a method performed by a first terminal device comprises: receiving configuration information from a network node.
  • the configuration information may indicate resource allocation for communications of one or more second terminal devices with the first terminal device.
  • the method may optionally further comprise: transmitting a first message to the one or more second terminal devices according to the configuration information.
  • the first message may indicate resource configuration for the communications of the one or more second terminal devices with the first terminal device.
  • an apparatus which may be implemented as a first terminal device.
  • the apparatus may comprise one or more processors and one or more memories storing computer program codes.
  • the one or more memories and the computer program codes may be configured to, with the one or more processors, cause the apparatus at least to perform any step of the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.
  • a computer-readable medium having computer program codes embodied thereon which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform any step of the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.
  • an apparatus which may be implemented as a first terminal device.
  • the apparatus may comprise a receiving unit and optionally a transmitting unit.
  • the receiving unit may be operable to carry out at least the receiving step of the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.
  • the transmitting unit may be operable to carry out at least the transmitting step of the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.
  • an apparatus which may be implemented as a second terminal device.
  • the apparatus may comprise a receiving unit and optionally a transmitting unit.
  • the receiving unit may be operable to carry out at least the receiving step of the method according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure.
  • the transmitting unit may be operable to carry out at least the transmitting step of the method according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure.
  • the network node may allocate the one or more resources for the one or more second terminal devices, e.g., in response to a request for the one or more resources by the first terminal device, and/or a command for the one or more resources from a CN, and/or the first terminal device being selected as an intermediate device, and/or other possible communication requirements. This can avoid resource waste and potential interference and improve resource utilization while isolating resource assignments between different functional devices.
  • Figs. 1A-1E are diagrams illustrating exemplary connectivity topologies for A-IoT networks and devices according to some embodiments of the present disclosure
  • Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary inventory command according to an embodiment of the present disclosure
  • Figs. 4A-4C are flowcharts illustrating various methods according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • Figs. 6A-6C are block diagrams illustrating various apparatuses according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • Fig. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized.
  • the term “communication network” refers to a network following any suitable communication standards, such as new radio (NR) , long term evolution (LTE) , LTE-Advanced, wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) , high-speed packet access (HSPA) , and so on.
  • NR new radio
  • LTE long term evolution
  • WCDMA wideband code division multiple access
  • HSPA high-speed packet access
  • the communications between a terminal device and a network node in the communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocols, including, but not limited to, the first generation (1G) , the second generation (2G) , 2.5G, 2.75G, the third generation (3G) , 4G, 4.5G, 5G communication protocols, and/or any other protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future.
  • the term “network node” refers to a network device in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses to the network and receives services therefrom.
  • the network node may refer to a base station (BS) , an access point (AP) , a multi-cell/multicast coordination entity (MCE) , a controller or any other suitable device in a wireless communication network.
  • BS base station
  • AP access point
  • MCE multi-cell/multicast coordination entity
  • the terminal device may be a UE implementing the 3GPP narrow band Internet of things (NB-IoT) standard.
  • NB-IoT 3GPP narrow band Internet of things
  • machines or devices are sensors, metering devices such as power meters, industrial machinery, or home or personal appliances, e.g., refrigerators, televisions, personal wearables such as watches etc.
  • a terminal device may represent a vehicle or other equipment, for example, a medical instrument that is capable of monitoring, sensing and/or reporting etc. on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.
  • Grouping A is on the basis of the deployment environment (s) described for a use case in 3GPP TR 22.840 V19.0.0
  • the second, Grouping B is on the basis of functionality/application described in 3GPP TR 22.840 V19.0.0.
  • Figs. 1A-1E are diagrams illustrating exemplary connectivity topologies for A-IoT networks and devices according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • the exemplary connectivity topologies for A-IoT networks and devices are defined for the purposes of the study as described in 3GPP TR 38.848 V18.0.0.
  • the A-IoT device may be provided with a carrier wave (CW) from other node (s) either inside or outside the topology.
  • CW carrier wave
  • the links in each topology may be bidirectional or unidirectional.
  • Figs. 1A-1E The topology in any of Figs. 1A-1E is described with respect to a single BS/UE/assisting node/intermediate node, but it can be appreciated that the BS/UE/assisting node/intermediate node as shown in Figs. 1A-1E may also be multiple BSs/UEs/assisting nodes/intermediate nodes, respectively.
  • the mixture of indoor and outdoor placement of such nodes is regarded as a network implementation choice. Account may need to be taken of potential impact on device or node complexity. In the connectivity topologies, this does not imply the existence of multi-hop assisting or intermediate nodes. Different topologies are illustrated in below with respect to Figs. 1A-1E, respectively.
  • Topology 1 is described with respect to a single BS/UE/assisting node/intermediate node, but it can be appreciated that the BS/UE/assisting node/intermediate node as shown in Figs. 1A-1E may also be multiple BSs/
  • Topology 1 as shown in Fig. 1A (which corresponds to Figure 1/4.2.1.1-1 in 3GPP TR 38.848 V18.0.0) , the A-IoT device directly and bidirectionally communicates with the BS.
  • the communication between the BS and the A-IoT device includes A-IoT data and/or signaling.
  • This topology includes the possibility that the BS transmitting to the A-IoT device is different from the BS receiving from the A-IoT device.
  • Topology 2 Topology 2:
  • Topology 2 as shown in Fig. 1B (which corresponds to Figure 2/4.2.1.2-1 in 3GPP TR 38.848 V18.0.0) , the A-IoT device communicates bidirectionally with the intermediate node between the A-IoT device and the BS.
  • the intermediate node can be a relay, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a UE, a repeater, etc. which is capable of A-IoT.
  • the intermediate node transfers A-IoT data and/or signaling between the BS and the A-IoT device.
  • Topology 3 Topology 3:
  • the A-IoT device transmits data/signaling to the BS, and receives data/signaling from the assisting node (as shown in Fig. 1C which corresponds to Figure 3/4.2.1.3-1 “Topology 3 with downlink assistance” in 3GPP TR 38.848 V18.0.0) ; or the A-IoT device receives data/signaling from the BS and transmits data/signaling to the assisting node (as shown in Fig. 1D which corresponds to Figure 4/4.2.1.3-2 “Topology 3 with uplink assistance” in 3GPP TR 38.848 V18.0.0) .
  • the assisting node can be a relay, an IAB, a UE, a repeater, etc. which is capable of ambient IoT.
  • Topology 4 Topology 4:
  • ⁇ Device A No energy storage, no independent signal generation/amplification, i.e. backscattering transmission.
  • ⁇ Device B Has energy storage, no independent signal generation, i.e. backscattering transmission. Use of stored energy can include amplification for reflected signals.
  • ⁇ Device C Has energy storage, has independent signal generation, i.e., active RF components for transmission.
  • a limited energy storage can be different among implementations within Device B or implementations within Device C, and different between Device B and Device C. Such storage is expected to be order (s) of magnitude smaller than an NB-IoT device would typically include. Devices A, B, and C are able to demodulate control, data, etc. from the relevant entity in RAN according to the connectivity topology.
  • 3GPP will target an IoT segment well below the existing cellular Internet of things (CIoT) technologies rather than replacement of existing 3GPP PLWA technologies. It is expected that together with simplifications in physical layer design, the higher layer (L2/L3) design will also be much lighter weighted than the existing higher layer design in 3GPP, i.e., a minimal set of functionalities (both at access stratum (AS) and non-access stratum (NAS) levels) , which is even more simplified compared to that adopted for the existing CIoT technologies, may be used to operate A-IoT devices.
  • AS access stratum
  • NAS non-access stratum
  • One way of such simplifications is to design a communication protocol shifted from fully connection oriented with both NAS and radio resource control (RRC) connections between device and network to connectionless type of communication with or without RRC connections or even also no NAS connections between device and network so that the protocol and signaling overhead associated with the handshaking between device and network is minimized.
  • RRC radio resource control
  • connectionless communication is to employ message-based or self-contained transmission where context/control information associated with the signaling/data traffic is transmitted together with or right after the signaling/data traffic where in the latter case (i.e., the right after case) , there is no other transmission between the context/control information and the associated signaling/data traffic carrying information that is needed for reception of the signaling/data traffic.
  • context/control information associated with the signaling/data traffic is transmitted together with or right after the signaling/data traffic where in the latter case (i.e., the right after case) , there is no other transmission between the context/control information and the associated signaling/data traffic carrying information that is needed for reception of the signaling/data traffic.
  • DL downlink
  • a UE may operate as an intermediate UE between a gNB and A-IoT devices.
  • the intermediate UE connects to the gNB via a Uu interface while operates as a “reader” towards the A-IoT devices.
  • the intermediate UE is expected to both transmit A-IoT data and signaling to the A-IoT devices on UL spectrum (via a new interface) , and transmits UL data and signaling to the gNB on UL spectrum (via the Uu interface) .
  • the intermediate UE When the intermediate UE is triggered (e.g., upon reception of an inventory request from the CN) to initiate an inventory/query procedure towards the A-IoT devices, the intermediate UE may also need to provide/assign resources on the UL spectrum to the A-IoT devices. These resources may need to be sufficient for the A-IoT devices to perform UL transmissions. How the intermediate UE obtains these resources from the gNB may be an issue. Therefore, it may be desirable to study this issue and develop corresponding solutions.
  • Various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure propose solutions to implement resource allocation for an intermediate UE, e.g., in the case of Topology 2 as described with respect to Fig. 1B.
  • various solutions are designed for a UE (e.g., an intermediate UE, etc. ) to obtain/request resources (e.g., from a gNB, etc. ) , which can serve devices (e.g., A-IoT devices, etc. ) to perform UL transmission via the intermediate UE.
  • a UE e.g., an intermediate UE, etc.
  • obtain/request resources e.g., from a gNB, etc.
  • devices e.g., A-IoT devices, etc.
  • a UE may send a signal to a gNB for requesting resources for devices.
  • the signal may carry information indicating one or more of: a number of devices intended to be scheduled in a scheduling round, an identifier (ID) of each intended device, an ID of the device group, a group size, a default number or a maximum number of devices included in the scheduling round (e.g., if there is no explicit number of devices indicated in the signal) , an ID of an area where the intended devices locate, priority information (e.g., priority of associated A-IoT services, etc. ) , an expected data volume or buffer size that the UE may receive from the devices, etc.
  • ID identifier
  • the UE Upon reception of resources from the gNB, the UE can inform the devices of which resources can be used by them for the UL communications to the UE.
  • the UE may send the signal in a broadcast, groupcast or unicast manner (if the signal is intended to one device) .
  • a gNB may configure the UE with a set of dedicated resources (e.g., in frequency and/or time domain) .
  • the UE can allocate resources for devices in a scheduling round within the set of dedicated resources.
  • the UE may not need to send a dynamic scheduling request to the gNB for requesting resources for the devices prior to initiating each scheduling round towards the devices.
  • a gNB may inform/configure the intermediate UE with resource allocation used for the CW.
  • the gNB may be in control of the resource allocation and inform both the CWT (Carrier Wave Transmitter) and the intermediate UE which radio resources can be used for backscattering UL transmission.
  • the intermediate UE may forward the information about resource allocation to the CWT (s) in its proximity which then may only transmit the indicated CWs.
  • a gNB when a gNB forwards an inventory command received from the CN or an application function (AF) , e.g., carried as a container in next generation access protocol (NGAP) signaling, to an intermediate UE, the gNB may additionally allocate resources to the intermediate UE. These resources may be further allocated/signaled by the intermediate UE to devices via an inventory command.
  • AF application function
  • NGAP next generation access protocol
  • an intermediate UE can assign resources to devices under a gNB’s control, which can avoid resource waste and potential interference.
  • resource utilization efficiency can be improved as the gNB can assign resources to the devices via the intermediate UE depending on the actual needs of the devices.
  • interference between intermediate UEs and CWT nodes can be avoided by isolating resource assignments between the intermediate UEs and the CWT nodes.
  • RAN node may refer to a network node or a UE.
  • network nodes may include NodeB, BS, MSR radio node such as MSR BS, eNodeB, gNodeB, MeNB, SeNB, location measurement unit (LMU) , integrated access backhaul (IAB) node, network controller, radio network controller (RNC) , base station controller (BCS) , relay, IAB, repeater, donor node controlling relay, base transceiver station (BTS) , central unit (e.g., in a gNB) , distributed unit (e.g., in a gNB) , baseband unit, centralized baseband, C-RAN, access point (AP) , transmission point, transmission node, transmission reception point (TRP) , RRU, RRH, nodes in distributed antenna system (DAS) , core network node (e.g., MCS, MME, etc.
  • MSR radio node such as MSR BS, eNo
  • the RAN node may comprise an intermediate node/UE (e.g., relay UE, IAB, repeater, etc. ) and assisting node/UE (e.g., relay UE, IAB, repeater etc. ) .
  • intermediate node/UE e.g., relay UE, IAB, repeater, etc.
  • assisting node/UE e.g., relay UE, IAB, repeater etc.
  • an intermediate UE may be triggered to initiate an inventory/scheduling round towards one or multiple devices in the proximity when one or more of the below conditions is met: ⁇
  • the UE needs to forward/transmit signaling (e.g., an inventory request, or an A-IoT command from the CN) to one or multiple devices.
  • the UE has determined to initiate a scheduling round.
  • the UE has expected that certain devices may have data to transmit to the UE.
  • the UE bases proximity detection and detects that one or multiple devices move away from the UE, e.g., distances between the devices and the UE are larger than a threshold, i.e., paring relation between the devices and the UE may be lost.
  • the UE determines to generate an inventory request or a command towards devices according to a configuration received from the CN.
  • the configuration provides e.g., a periodic timer, based on which the UE needs to generate/trigger an inventory request towards the devices periodically.
  • a gNB may configure the radio resources that the intermediate UE may be allowed to use for A-IoT communication.
  • the radio resources may include both UL and DL time and/or frequency resources, and either be communicated per inventory or command request from the CN, or semi-persistently configured, e.g., as periodically reoccurring resources, a resource pool, or a certain subcarrier.
  • the intermediate UE may communicate to the A-IoT devices by signaling which resources may be used for the communication.
  • the intermediate UE may send the signaling in a broadcast, groupcast or unicast manner (if the signaling is intended to one device) .
  • the signaling may comprise one or more of the below parameters: ⁇ A parameter indicating (i.e., directly or indirectly) the number of occasions for the devices to perform UL transmissions to the intermediate UE, or DL reception from the intermediate UE (it may occur in the FDD (Frequency Division Duplexing) UL band, or even though less likely if the intermediate UE can transmit in the FDD DL band) .
  • the occasions may be in time domain and/or frequency domain.
  • ⁇ Resource assignments e.g., in frequency domain and/or time domain
  • ⁇ Modulation scheme and/or order e.g., in frequency domain and/or order.
  • each device may attempt to obtain an occasion among the occasions indicated in the signaling. After that the device can initiate an UL transmission using resources indicated in the signaling.
  • Fig. 2A is a diagram illustrating an exemplary resource allocation procedure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • an intermediate UE (denoted as UE/reader in Fig. 2A) may request resources for devices when receiving an inventory command from a CN or A-IoT network function (NF) .
  • the intermediate UE may receive an inventory command from the CN.
  • the intermediate UE may send a scheduling request message to a gNB for asking resources for the devices.
  • the resource allocation can be made part of, or transmitted along with, the inventory command received from the CN via the gNB.
  • previously configured semi-persistent resources may be used.
  • the intermediate UE may indicate the allocated resources to the devices by a scheduling/inventory command, and the devices can perform UL transmissions by using the allocated resources.
  • the intermediate UE may send a signal carrying one or more of the following contents to the gNB for requesting resources for the devices: ⁇ The number of devices intended to be scheduled in the scheduling round. ⁇ including an ID of each intended device; and/or ⁇ including an ID of the device group, and alternatively or additionally a group size; and/or ⁇ there is no explicit number of devices indicated rather, a default number or a maximum number of devices that may be included in the scheduling round. ⁇ An ID of an area where the intended devices locate. ⁇ Priority information, e.g., priority of associated A-IoT services. ⁇ An expected data volume or buffer size that the intermediate UE may receive from the devices.
  • the signaling sent by the intermediate UE to the gNB may be carried by one or more of the below signaling alternatives: ⁇ An SR (Scheduling Request) :
  • the SR may be carried on a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) or a random access channel (RACH) (if there is no PUCCH SR resource available for the intermediate UE) .
  • the SR may be associated with a priority value and/or data volume which is configured to the UE by the gNB.
  • the gNB may configure the UE with one or multiple SR resources. For the latter, each SR resource may be associated with a specific priority value and/or data volume.
  • the UE upon triggering to initiate a scheduling round towards devices, the UE may estimate the number of intended devices and the potential data volume for the UL transmissions by the devices, and then the UE may select the corresponding SR resource.
  • a BSR Buffer Status Report
  • the BSR may carry an aggregated data volume, e.g., an expected overall data volume from the intended devices.
  • An RRC signaling e.g., UEAssistanceInformation, etc.
  • the RRC signaling may carry the priority information and/or the expected data volume for the devices.
  • the gNB Upon reception of the above signaling, the gNB can understand the priority and/or potential/expected data volume from the devices in the scheduling round. Based on this, the gNB can assign/schedule corresponding UL resources to the UE which can further assign them to each device.
  • the UE may send signaling to the gNB requesting the gNB to provide a parameter/configuration for the number of occasions that the scheduling round/message can comprise/indicate to the devices.
  • the UE may send signaling to the gNB requesting the gNB to provide a configuration on the number of devices that the UE can schedule in the scheduling round.
  • the set of dedicated resources may be configured grants, which may comprise periodical configured resources.
  • the set of dedicated resources may be located in a dedicated frequency region/subband/channel/bandwidth part (BWP) /cell/carrier.
  • BWP bandwidth part
  • the UE may be configured by the gNB with a dedicated carrier/BWP/subband/radio bearer (RB) set.
  • RB radio bearer
  • the UE may not need to send a dynamic scheduling request to the gNB for requesting resources for the devices prior to initiating each scheduling round towards the devices.
  • Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary inventory command according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • the network node e.g., a gNB, etc.
  • the network node may indicate a slave node ID, a corresponding slot ID (e.g., a time reference ID or a symbol ID, etc. ) , Q parameter (e.g., the number of slots that a slave node can distribute or made available among its inventory user set, etc. ) , and/or frequency resources (which the slave node can utilize for inventorying its user set) , etc.
  • the inventory command may be used to indicate resources for a given slave node to conduct inventory.
  • the first terminal device may receive configuration information from a network node, as shown in block 412.
  • the configuration information may indicate resource allocation for communications of one or more second terminal devices with the first terminal device.
  • the first terminal device may transmit a message for requesting the resource allocation to the network node.
  • the message for requesting the resource allocation may indicate one or more of: a number of the one or more second terminal devices; one or more identifiers of the one or more second terminal devices; an identifier of a group to which the one or more second terminal devices belong; a size of the group to which the one or more second terminal devices belong; a default number or a maximum number of a set of devices to be scheduled by the first terminal device; an identifier of an area where the one or more second terminal devices locate; priority information of the one or more second terminal devices; and an expected data volume or buffer size related to the one or more second terminal devices.
  • the message for requesting the resource allocation may comprise one or more of a SR, a BSR and an RRC message.
  • At least part of the configuration information may be included in a message from the network node in response to: a command for the one or more second terminal devices from a core network; and/or the first terminal device being selected as an intermediate device for communications between the one or more second terminal devices and the network node.
  • the message from the network node may include one or more of: an identifier of the network node; an identifier of the first terminal device; one or more resource identifiers; one or more session identifiers; and one or more parameters indicating one or more resources which can be made available for the one or more second terminal devices by the first terminal device.
  • the configuration information may further indicate one or more of: a number of occasions available for a scheduling procedure initiated by the first terminal device for the one or more second terminal devices; a number of a set of devices to be scheduled in the scheduling procedure; resource split and/or multiplexing relation between a first interface and a second interface, where the first interface is between the network node and the first terminal device, and the second interface is between the first terminal device and the one or more second terminal devices; a resource allocated to the first terminal device to forward a message from the network node to the one or more second terminal devices; priority of forwarding the message from the network node to the one or more second terminal devices; and resource allocation for a CW transmission, when the first terminal device does not transmit a CW for a backscatter-based transmission.
  • the first terminal device may optionally transmit a first message to the one or more second terminal devices according to the configuration information, as shown in block 414.
  • the first message may indicate resource configuration for the communications of the one or more second terminal devices with the first terminal device.
  • the first terminal device may adjust resource configuration to avoid interference and/or conflict between communications with the one or more second terminal devices and backscatter-based transmissions.
  • the resource configuration for the communications of the one or more second terminal devices may be determined by the first terminal device based at least in part on the configuration information received from the network node.
  • the first message transmitted to the one or more second terminal devices by the first terminal device may include one or more of: an identifier of the first terminal device; one or more identifiers of the one or more second terminal devices; one or more resource identifiers; one or more session identifiers; and one or more parameters indicating one or more resources available for the one or more second terminal devices.
  • the first message may be transmitted to the one or more second terminal devices during a scheduling procedure.
  • the scheduling procedure may be initiated by the first terminal device for the one or more second terminal devices in response to: a signal which needs to be transmitted to the one or more second terminal devices by the first terminal device; and/or a determination of initiating the scheduling procedure made by the first terminal device based at least in part on a change of information related to the one or more second terminal devices.
  • the resource configuration for the communications of the one or more second terminal devices may indicate one or more of: a number of one or more occasions for transmission and/or reception; one or more resource assignments; and one or more modulation schemes and/or orders.
  • the first terminal device may receive device information from the one or more second terminal devices.
  • the device information may indicate one or more of: a device type; a device power class or supported peak power; a device priority; a device supported energy storage; whether a device supports frequency shift; whether a device supports a backscatter-based transmission or a transmission actively generated by the device; a device buffer status; and a device available energy level.
  • the first terminal device may transmit, to the one or more second terminal devices, a second message which may indicate an adjustment of the resource configuration for the communications of the one or more second terminal devices according to the device information.
  • the first terminal device may receive data from the one or more second terminal devices, according to the resource configuration for the communications of the one or more second terminal devices. In an embodiment, the first terminal device may forward the data from the one or more second terminal devices to the network node.
  • the first terminal device may obtain a first identifier of at least one of the one or more second terminal devices. In an embodiment, the first terminal device may transmit the first identifier of the at least one of the one or more second terminal devices to the network node.
  • the first terminal device may receive a second identifier of the at least one of the one or more second terminal devices from the network node.
  • the second identifier of the at least one of the one or more second terminal devices may be used to address a connection between the at least one of the one or more second terminal devices and the first terminal device and/or the network node.
  • the first terminal device may transmit the second identifier of the at least one of the one or more second terminal devices to the at least one of the one or more second terminal devices.
  • the first terminal device may transmit a request for triggering a CW transmission to the network node and/or a CWT of the first terminal device.
  • the request may include one or more of: an identifier of the CWT; one or more identifiers of a set of devices to be scheduled by the first terminal device; and resource scheduling information.
  • Fig. 4B is a flowchart illustrating a method 420 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • the method 420 illustrated in Fig. 4B may be performed by a second terminal device (e.g., an ultra-low power device, a ZE-IoT device, an A-IoT device such as an A-IoT UE, etc. ) or an apparatus communicatively coupled to the second terminal device.
  • the second terminal device may be configured to communicate with a network node via an intermediate device.
  • the second terminal device may receive a first message from a first terminal device (e.g., the first terminal device as described with respect to Fig. 4A) , as shown in block 422.
  • the first message may indicate resource configuration for a communication of the second terminal device with the first terminal device.
  • the resource configuration for the communication of the second terminal device may be based at least in part on configuration information about resource allocation from a network node (e.g., the configuration information received from the network node by the first terminal device as described with respect to Fig. 4A) .
  • the first message received by the second terminal device according to the method 420 may correspond to the first message transmitted by the first terminal device according to the method 410.
  • the first message as described with respect to Fig. 4A and Fig. 4B may have the same or similar contents and/or feature elements.
  • the first message may include one or more of:an identifier of the first terminal device; an identifier of the second terminal device; one or more resource identifiers; one or more session identifiers; and one or more parameters indicating one or more resources available for the second terminal device.
  • the second terminal device may attempt to obtain one or more resources for the communication of the second terminal device according to the resource configuration.
  • the second terminal device may receive, from the first terminal device, a second message which may indicate an adjustment of the resource configuration for the communication of the second terminal device according to the device information.
  • the second terminal device may optionally transmit data to the first terminal device, according to the resource configuration for the communication of the second terminal device, as shown in block 424.
  • the first terminal device may be selected by the second terminal device among multiple devices which are detected by the second terminal device for data delivery.
  • Fig. 4C is a flowchart illustrating a method 430 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • the method 430 illustrated in Fig. 4C may be performed by a network node (e.g., a base station, a gNB, a control node, etc. ) or an apparatus communicatively coupled to the network node.
  • the network node may be configured to communicate with one or more terminal devices directly or via relaying.
  • the configuration information transmitted by the network node according to the method 430 may correspond to the configuration information received by the first terminal device according to the method 410.
  • the configuration information as described with respect to Fig. 4A and Fig. 4C may have the same or similar contents and/or feature elements.
  • the network node may receive a message for requesting the resource allocation from the first terminal device.
  • the message for requesting the resource allocation received by the network node according to the method 430 may correspond to the message for requesting the resource allocation transmitted by the first terminal device according to the method 410.
  • the message for requesting the resource allocation as described with respect to Fig. 4A and Fig. 4C may have the same or similar contents and/or feature elements.
  • the network node may receive a first identifier of at least one of the one or more second terminal devices from the first terminal device.
  • the network node may establish a context for the at least one of the one or more second terminal devices.
  • the context may be associated with the first identifier of the at least one of the one or more second terminal devices.
  • the network node may assign a second identifier to at least one of the one or more second terminal devices.
  • the second identifier of the at least one of the one or more second terminal devices may be used to address a connection between the at least one of the one or more second terminal devices and the first terminal device and/or the network node.
  • the network node may transmit the second identifier of the at least one of the one or more second terminal devices to the first terminal device.
  • the network node may inform resource configuration for a backscatter-based transmission to the first terminal device and/or a CWT of the first terminal device.
  • the network node may receive a request for triggering a CW transmission from the first terminal device. In an embodiment, the network node may forward the request for triggering the CW transmission to a CWT of the first terminal device. In an embodiment, the request for triggering the CW transmission may include one or more of: an identifier of the CWT; one or more identifiers of a set of devices to be scheduled by the first terminal device; and resource scheduling information.
  • Figs. 4A-4C may be viewed as method steps, and/or as operations that result from operation of computer program code, and/or as a plurality of coupled logic circuit elements constructed to carry out the associated function (s) .
  • the schematic flow chart diagrams described above are generally set forth as logical flow chart diagrams. As such, the depicted order and labeled steps are indicative of specific embodiments of the presented methods. Other steps and methods may be conceived that are equivalent in function, logic, or effect to one or more steps, or portions thereof, of the illustrated methods. Additionally, the order in which a particular method occurs may or may not strictly adhere to the order of the corresponding steps shown.
  • Fig. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus 500 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • the apparatus 500 may comprise one or more processors such as processor 501 and one or more memories such as memory 502 storing computer program codes 503.
  • the memory 502 may be non-transitory machine/processor/computer readable storage medium.
  • the apparatus 500 may be implemented as an integrated circuit chip or module that can be plugged or installed into a first terminal device as described with respect to Fig. 4A, or a second terminal device as described with respect to Fig. 4B, or a network node as described with respect to Fig. 4C. In such cases, the apparatus 500 may be implemented as a first terminal device as described with respect to Fig. 4A, or a second terminal device as described with respect to Fig. 4B, or a network node as described with respect to Fig. 4C.
  • the one or more memories 502 and the computer program codes 503 may be configured to, with the one or more processors 501, cause the apparatus 500 at least to perform any operation of the method as described in connection with Fig. 4A. In other implementations, the one or more memories 502 and the computer program codes 503 may be configured to, with the one or more processors 501, cause the apparatus 500 at least to perform any operation of the method as described in connection with Fig. 4B. In other implementations, the one or more memories 502 and the computer program codes 503 may be configured to, with the one or more processors 501, cause the apparatus 500 at least to perform any operation of the method as described in connection with Fig. 4C. Alternatively or additionally, the one or more memories 502 and the computer program codes 503 may be configured to, with the one or more processors 501, cause the apparatus 500 at least to perform more or less operations to implement the proposed methods according to the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • Fig. 6A is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus 610 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • the apparatus 610 may comprise a receiving unit 611 and optionally a transmitting unit 612.
  • the apparatus 610 may be implemented in a first terminal device.
  • the receiving unit 611 may be operable to carry out the operation in block 412
  • the transmitting unit 612 may be operable to carry out the operation in block 414.
  • the receiving unit 611 and/or the transmitting unit 612 may be operable to carry out more or less operations to implement the proposed methods according to the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • Fig. 6B is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus 620 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • the apparatus 620 may comprise a receiving unit 621 and optionally a transmitting unit 622.
  • the apparatus 620 may be implemented in a second terminal device.
  • the receiving unit 621 may be operable to carry out the operation in block 422, and the transmitting unit 622 may be operable to carry out the operation in block 424.
  • the receiving unit 621 and/or the transmitting unit 622 may be operable to carry out more or less operations to implement the proposed methods according to the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • Fig. 6C is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus 630 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • the apparatus 630 may comprise a determining unit 631 and a transmitting unit 632.
  • the apparatus 630 may be implemented in a network node.
  • the determining unit 631 may be operable to carry out the operation in block 432
  • the transmitting unit 632 may be operable to carry out the operation in block 434.
  • the determining unit 631 and/or the transmitting unit 632 may be operable to carry out more or less operations to implement the proposed methods according to the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • the apparatus 630 may further comprise a receiving unit (not shown in Fig. 6C) which may be operable to receive information from one or more other devices (e.g., a terminal device, another network node, etc. ) .
  • Fig. 7 shows an example of a communication system 700 in accordance with some embodiments.
  • the communication system 700 includes a telecommunication network 702 that includes an access network 704, such as a radio access network (RAN) , and a core network 706, which includes one or more core network nodes 708.
  • the access network 704 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 710A and 710B (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 710) , or any other similar 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points.
  • 3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project
  • a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor.
  • the telecommunication network 702 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes.
  • ORAN Open-RAN
  • An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 702 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the telecommunication network 702, including one or more network nodes 710 and/or core network nodes 708.
  • ORAN Open-RAN
  • Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (O-RU) , an open distributed unit (O-DU) , an open central unit (O-CU) , including an O-CU control plane (O-CU-CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP) , a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp) , or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification) .
  • a near-real time control application e.g., xApp
  • rApp non-real time control application
  • the network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an A1, F1, W1, E1, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface.
  • an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node.
  • an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized.
  • the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies.
  • the network nodes 710 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE) , such as by connecting UEs 712A, 712B, 712C, and 712D (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 712) to the core network 706 over one or more wireless connections.
  • UE user equipment
  • Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors.
  • the communication system 700 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and/or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and/or signals whether via wired or wireless connections.
  • the communication system 700 may include and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and/or other similar type of system.
  • the UEs 712 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 710 and other communication devices.
  • the network nodes 710 are arranged, capable, configured, and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 712 and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 702 to enable and/or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and/or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 702.
  • the host 716 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 704 and/or the telecommunication network 702.
  • the host 716 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio/video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.
  • the communication system 700 of Fig. 7 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts.
  • the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) ; Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) ; Long Term Evolution (LTE) , and/or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G) ; wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi) ; and/or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax) , Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and/or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.
  • GSM Global System for Mobile Communications
  • UMTS Universal Mobile
  • the telecommunication network 702 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 702 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 702. For example, the telecommunications network 702 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and/or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) /Massive IoT services to yet further UEs.
  • URLLC Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication
  • eMBB Enhanced Mobile Broadband
  • mMTC Massive Machine Type Communication
  • the UEs 712 are configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction.
  • a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 704 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 704.
  • a UE may be configured for operating in single-or multi-RAT or multi-standard mode.
  • a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) , such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio –Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) .
  • MR-DC multi-radio dual connectivity
  • the hub 714 communicates with the access network 704 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 712C and/or 712D) and network nodes (e.g., network node 710B) .
  • the hub 714 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs.
  • the hub 714 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 706 for the UEs.
  • the hub 714 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs.
  • the hub 714 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data.
  • the hub 714 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR device, display, loudspeaker, or other media delivery device, the hub 714 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 714 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and/or after adding additional local content.
  • the hub 714 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy IoT devices.
  • Fig. 8 shows a UE 800 in accordance with some embodiments.
  • the UE 800 presents additional details of some embodiments of the UE 712 of Fig. 7.
  • a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and/or other UEs.
  • Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA) , wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage/playback device, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE) , laptop-mounted equipment (LME) , an Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR) device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE) , vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded/integrated wireless device, etc.
  • VoIP voice over IP
  • PDA personal digital assistant
  • wireless cameras gaming console or device
  • music storage/playback device wearable terminal device
  • wireless endpoint mobile station
  • mobile station tablet
  • laptop laptop-embedded equipment
  • LME laptop-mounted equipment
  • AR Augmented Reality
  • VR Virtual Reality
  • CPE wireless customer-premise equipment
  • UEs identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) , including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.
  • 3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project
  • NB-IoT narrow band internet of things
  • MTC machine type communication
  • eMTC enhanced MTC
  • a UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC) , vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) , vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) , or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) .
  • D2D device-to-device
  • DSRC Dedicated Short-Range Communication
  • V2V vehicle-to-vehicle
  • V2I vehicle-to-infrastructure
  • V2X vehicle-to-everything
  • a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and/or operates the relevant device.
  • a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller) .
  • a UE may
  • the UE 800 includes processing circuitry 802 that is operatively coupled via a bus 804 to an input/output interface 806, a power source 808, a memory 810, a communication interface 812, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof.
  • Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Fig. 8. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.
  • the processing circuitry 802 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 810.
  • the processing circuitry 802 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) , application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) , etc. ) ; programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP) , together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above.
  • the processing circuitry 802 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs) .
  • the input/output interface 806 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and/or output devices.
  • Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof.
  • An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 800. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.
  • the presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user.
  • a sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof.
  • An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.
  • USB Universal Serial Bus
  • the power source 808 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet) , photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used.
  • the power source 808 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 808 itself, and/or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 800 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 808.
  • Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 808 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 800 to which power is supplied.
  • the memory 810 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM) , read-only memory (ROM) , programmable read-only memory (PROM) , erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM) , electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) , magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth.
  • the memory 810 includes one or more application programs 814, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 816.
  • the memory 810 may store, for use by the UE 800, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.
  • the memory 810 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID) , flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM) , synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM) , external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs) , such as a USIM and/or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof.
  • RAID redundant array of independent disks
  • HD-DVD high-density digital versatile disc
  • HDDS holographic digital data storage
  • DIMM external mini-dual in-line memory module
  • SDRAM synchronous dynamic random access memory
  • the UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC) , integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card. ’
  • the memory 810 may allow the UE 800 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data.
  • An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 810, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.
  • the processing circuitry 802 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 812.
  • the communication interface 812 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 822.
  • the communication interface 812 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network) .
  • Each transceiver may include a transmitter 818 and/or a receiver 820 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth) .
  • the transmitter 818 and receiver 820 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 822) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.
  • communication functions of the communication interface 812 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof.
  • GPS global positioning system
  • Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and/or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA) , Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) , GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR) , UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP) , synchronous optical networking (SONET) , Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) , QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) , and so forth.
  • CDMA Code Division Multiplexing Access
  • WCDMA Wideband Code Division Multiple Access
  • WCDMA Wideband Code Division Multiple Access
  • GSM Global System for Mobile communications
  • LTE Long Term Evolution
  • NR New Radio
  • UMTS Universal Mobile communications
  • WiMax Ethernet
  • TCP/IP transmission control protocol/internet protocol
  • SONET synchronous optical networking
  • ATM Asynchronous Transfer Mode
  • QUIC Hypertext Transfer Protocol
  • HTTP Hypertext Transfer Protocol
  • a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 812, via a wireless connection to a network node.
  • Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE.
  • the output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature) , random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors) , in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent) , in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request) , or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient) .
  • a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection.
  • the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change.
  • the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.
  • a UE when in the form of an Internet of Things (IoT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare.
  • IoT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door/window sensor, a flood/moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal-or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot,
  • a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and/or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and/or measurements to another UE and/or a network node.
  • the UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device.
  • the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard.
  • a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and/or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.
  • any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case.
  • a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone.
  • the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed.
  • the first and/or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above.
  • a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.
  • Fig. 9 shows a network node 900 in accordance with some embodiments.
  • network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and/or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network.
  • network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points) , base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs) ) , O-RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e.g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU) .
  • APs access points
  • BSs base stations
  • eNBs evolved Node Bs
  • gNBs NR NodeBs
  • network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs) , base transceiver stations (BTSs) , transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell/multicast coordination entities (MCEs) , Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs) ) , and/or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs) .
  • MSR multi-standard radio
  • RNCs radio network controllers
  • BSCs base station controllers
  • BTSs base transceiver stations
  • OFDM Operation and Maintenance
  • OSS Operations Support System
  • SON Self-Organizing Network
  • positioning nodes e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location
  • the network node 900 includes a processing circuitry 902, a memory 904, a communication interface 906, and a power source 908.
  • the network node 900 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and an RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc. ) , which may each have their own respective components.
  • the network node 900 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components)
  • one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes.
  • a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs.
  • each unique NodeB and RNC pair may in some instances be considered a single separate network node.
  • the network node 900 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs) .
  • RATs radio access technologies
  • some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 904 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 910 may be shared by different RATs) .
  • the network node 900 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 900, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 900.
  • RFID Radio Frequency Identification
  • the processing circuitry 902 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and/or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 900 components, such as the memory 904, to provide network node 900 functionality.
  • the processing circuitry 902 includes a system on a chip (SOC) .
  • the processing circuitry 902 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 912 and baseband processing circuitry 914.
  • the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 912 and the baseband processing circuitry 914 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips) , boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units.
  • part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 912 and baseband processing circuitry 914 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.
  • the memory 904 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM) , read-only memory (ROM) , mass storage media (for example, a hard disk) , removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD) ) , and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and/or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 902.
  • volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM) , read-only memory (ROM) , mass storage media (for example, a hard disk) , removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Dis
  • the memory 904 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and/or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 902 and utilized by the network node 900.
  • the memory 904 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 902 and/or any data received via the communication interface 906.
  • the processing circuitry 902 and memory 904 is integrated.
  • the communication interface 906 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and/or data between a network node, access network, and/or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 906 comprises port (s) /terminal (s) 916 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection.
  • the communication interface 906 also includes radio front-end circuitry 918 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 910. Radio front-end circuitry 918 comprises filters 920 and amplifiers 922.
  • the radio front-end circuitry 918 may be connected to an antenna 910 and processing circuitry 902.
  • the radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 910 and processing circuitry 902.
  • the radio front-end circuitry 918 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection.
  • the radio front-end circuitry 918 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 920 and/or amplifiers 922.
  • the radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 910.
  • the antenna 910 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 918.
  • the digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 902.
  • the communication interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.
  • the network node 900 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 918, instead, the processing circuitry 902 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 910. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 912 is part of the communication interface 906. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 906 includes one or more ports or terminals 916, the radio front-end circuitry 918, and the RF transceiver circuitry 912, as part of a radio unit (not shown) , and the communication interface 906 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 914, which is part of a digital unit (not shown) .
  • the antenna 910, communication interface 906, and/or the processing circuitry 902 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and/or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and/or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 910, the communication interface 906, and/or the processing circuitry 902 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and/or any other network equipment.
  • the power source 908 provides power to the various components of network node 900 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component) .
  • the power source 908 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 900 with power for performing the functionality described herein.
  • the network node 900 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 908.
  • the power source 908 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.
  • Embodiments of the network node 900 may include additional components beyond those shown in Fig. 9 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and/or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein.
  • the network node 900 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 900 and to allow output of information from the network node 900. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 900.
  • providing a core network node such as core network node 708 of Fig. 7, some components, such as the radio front-end circuitry 918 and the RF transceiver circuitry 912 may be omitted.
  • Fig. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1000 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized.
  • virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources.
  • virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components.
  • Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 1000 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host.
  • VMs virtual machines
  • the node may be entirely virtualized.
  • the virtualization environment 1000 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface. Virtualization may facilitate distributed implementations of a network node, UE, core network node, or host.
  • Applications 1002 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc. ) are run in the virtualization environment 1000 to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.
  • Hardware 1004 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and/or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and/or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input/output interface, and so forth.
  • Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 1006 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs) ) , provide VMs 1008A and 1008B (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 1008) , and/or perform any of the functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein.
  • the virtualization layer 1006 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 1008.
  • the VMs 1008 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1006.
  • a virtualization layer 1006 Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 1002 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 1008, and the implementations may be made in different ways.
  • Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV) .
  • NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.
  • a VM 1008 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine.
  • Each of the VMs 1008, and that part of hardware 1004 that executes that VM be it hardware dedicated to that VM and/or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements.
  • a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 1008 on top of the hardware 1004 and corresponds to the application 1002.
  • Hardware 1004 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1004 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1004 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 1010, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 1002.
  • hardware 1004 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station.
  • some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 1012 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.
  • processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium.
  • some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner.
  • the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and/or by end users and a wireless network generally.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Mobile Radio Communication Systems (AREA)

Abstract

Divers modes de réalisation de la présente divulgation concernent un procédé d'attribution de ressources. Le procédé, qui peut être réalisé par un premier dispositif terminal, consiste : à recevoir des informations de configuration en provenance d'un nœud de réseau. Les informations de configuration peuvent indiquer une attribution de ressources pour des communications d'un ou de plusieurs seconds dispositifs terminaux avec le premier dispositif terminal. Selon un mode de réalisation donné à titre d'exemple, le procédé peut facultativement consister en outre : à transmettre un premier message au ou aux seconds dispositifs terminaux selon les informations de configuration. Le premier message peut indiquer une configuration de ressources pour les communications du ou des seconds dispositifs terminaux avec le premier dispositif terminal.
PCT/CN2025/086159 2024-04-03 2025-03-31 Procédé et appareil d'attribution de ressources Pending WO2025209394A1 (fr)

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Citations (4)

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US20100197313A1 (en) * 2009-02-04 2010-08-05 Nokia Corporation Optimization of uplink resource grant procedure
US20120127951A1 (en) * 2010-11-11 2012-05-24 Qualcomm Incorporated Method and apparatus for assigning wireless network packet resources to wireless terminals
US20180054804A1 (en) * 2015-03-02 2018-02-22 Zte Corporation Resource Processing Method and Device
CN108347772A (zh) * 2017-01-25 2018-07-31 华为技术有限公司 资源分配方法及装置

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20100197313A1 (en) * 2009-02-04 2010-08-05 Nokia Corporation Optimization of uplink resource grant procedure
US20120127951A1 (en) * 2010-11-11 2012-05-24 Qualcomm Incorporated Method and apparatus for assigning wireless network packet resources to wireless terminals
US20180054804A1 (en) * 2015-03-02 2018-02-22 Zte Corporation Resource Processing Method and Device
CN108347772A (zh) * 2017-01-25 2018-07-31 华为技术有限公司 资源分配方法及装置

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