CN114342446B

CN114342446B - Sequence repetition for unsynchronized uplink transmissions

Info

Publication number: CN114342446B
Application number: CN201980100033.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: E·法拉格; M·德盖尔; F·弗雷德里克森; 李泽宪; 姚春海; J·科尔霍南
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
Priority date: 2019-09-06
Filing date: 2019-09-06
Publication date: 2024-02-13
Anticipated expiration: 2039-09-06
Also published as: CN114342446A; WO2021042394A1

Abstract

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a network device transmits information indicating a structure of an uplink signal to a terminal device. The information indicates that the length of the cyclic prefix is the same as the length of the sequence in one symbol. The cyclic prefix repeats the sequence. In this way, a common frequency domain transformation is applied to all terminal devices, which simplifies receiver processing at the network device. In addition, allocation of PUSCH opportunities is more efficient.

Description

Sequence repetition for unsynchronized uplink transmissions

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of communications and, in particular, relate to a method, apparatus, device, and computer readable storage medium for sequence repetition for unsynchronized uplink transmissions.

Background

Recently, several techniques have been proposed to improve communication performance. Typically, the network device is configured to process the signal in the frequency domain. The network device is typically capable of processing signals from the synchronous terminal device. However, in some cases, the terminal devices may not be synchronized. Therefore, research into asynchronous reception is required.

Disclosure of Invention

In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for sequence repetition of unsynchronized uplink transmissions and corresponding communication devices.

In a first aspect, a first device is provided. The first device includes at least one processor; at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the first device to send a configuration of an uplink transmission to the second device. The configuration indicates that the length of the cyclic prefix is the same as the length of the sequence in one symbol. The first device is also caused to receive a signal generated based on the configuration from the second device. The first device is also caused to perform a frequency domain transform on the signal.

In a second aspect, a second device is provided. The second device includes at least one processor; at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the second device to receive a configuration of an uplink transmission from the first device. The configuration indicates that the length of the cyclic prefix is the same as the length of the sequence in one symbol. The second device is further caused to generate a signal based on the configuration. The second device is also caused to transmit a signal to the first device.

In a third aspect, a method is provided. The method includes sending, at a first device, a configuration of an uplink transmission to a second device. The configuration indicates that the length of the cyclic prefix is the same as the length of the sequence in one symbol. The method also includes receiving a signal generated based on the configuration from the second device. The method further includes performing a frequency domain transform on the signal.

In a fourth aspect, a method is provided. The method includes receiving, at a second device, a configuration of an uplink transmission from a first device. The configuration indicates that the length of the cyclic prefix is the same as the length of the sequence in one symbol. The method also includes generating a signal based on the configuration. The method also includes transmitting the signal to the first device.

In a fifth aspect, an apparatus is provided. The device comprises: means for transmitting, at the first device, a configuration of an uplink transmission to the second device, the configuration indicating that a length of the cyclic prefix is the same as a length of a sequence in one symbol; means for receiving a signal generated based on the configuration from a second device; and means for performing a frequency domain transform on the signal.

In a sixth aspect, an apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes means for receiving, at a second device, a configuration of an uplink transmission from a first device, the configuration indicating that a length of a cyclic prefix is the same as a length of a sequence in one symbol; means for generating a signal based on the configuration; and means for transmitting the signal to the first device.

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

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

Drawings

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

fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an uplink slot according to a conventional technique;

fig. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) occasion according to the conventional technology;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example communication network in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

fig. 4 shows a schematic diagram of interactions between communication devices according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 5 shows a schematic diagram of a structure of an uplink signal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 6 shows a schematic diagram of a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) occasion according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 7 shows a schematic diagram of a time window for a fast Fourier transform according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 shows a schematic diagram of a time window for a fast Fourier transform according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 shows a schematic diagram of a time window for a fast Fourier transform according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 shows a schematic diagram of a time window for a fast Fourier transform according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 illustrates a flow chart of a method implemented at a network device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 12 shows a flowchart of a method implemented at a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 shows a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure; and

fig. 14 illustrates a block diagram of an example computer-readable medium, according to some embodiments of the disclosure.

The same or similar reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like elements.

Detailed Description

Principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described merely for the purpose of illustrating and helping those skilled in the art understand and achieve the objects of the present disclosure without any limitation to the scope of the present disclosure. The disclosure described herein may be implemented in various other ways besides those described below.

In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

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

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

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises," "comprising," "includes," "including," "having," "containing," "includes" and/or "including," when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

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

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

(b) A combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (as applicable):

(i) Combination of analog and/or digital hardware circuitry and software/firmware

(ii) A hardware processor (including a digital signal processor) with software, any portion of the software and memory that work together to cause a device (such as a mobile phone or server) to perform various functions, and

(c) Hardware circuitry and/or a processor, such as a microprocessor or a portion of a microprocessor, that requires software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but may not exist when operation is not required.

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

As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that complies with any suitable communication criteria, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-advanced (LTE-a), wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), high Speed Packet Access (HSPA), narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT), new Radio (NR), non-terrestrial network (NTN), and the like. Further, communication between user devices and network devices in a communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocol, including, but not limited to, first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.95G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, future fifth generation (5G) communication protocols, and/or any other protocols now known or later developed. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to various communication systems. In view of the rapid development of communications, there will, of course, also be future types of communication techniques and systems that may be used to embody the present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure should not be limited to only the above-described systems.

As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services therefrom. A network device may refer to a Base Station (BS) or an Access Point (AP), e.g., a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), an NR NB (also known as a gNB), a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a Radio Head (RH), a Remote Radio Head (RRH), a relay, a low power node (such as femto, pico), etc., depending on the terminology and technology applied.

The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. By way of example, and not limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user Equipment (UE), subscriber Station (SS), portable subscriber station, mobile Station (MS), or Access Terminal (AT). The terminal devices may include, but are not limited to, mobile phones, cellular phones, smart phones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, tablets, wearable terminal devices, personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), portable computers, desktop computers, image capture terminal devices (such as digital cameras), gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback devices, in-vehicle wireless terminal devices, wireless terminals, mobile stations, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop mounted devices (LMEs), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless client devices (CPE), internet of things (loT) devices, watches or other wearable devices, head Mounted Displays (HMDs), vehicles, drones, medical devices and applications (e.g., tele-surgery), industrial devices and applications (e.g., robots and/or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and/or automated processing chain environment), consumer electronic devices, devices operating on commercial and/or industrial wireless networks, and the like. In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

As described above, research into asynchronous reception is required. For example, a two-step Random Access Channel (RACH) has been proposed. In the two-step RACH, msgA combines the preamble signal (Msg 1 in the four-step RACH) and the data signal (Msg 3 in the four-step RACH), while MsgB combines the random access response (Msg 2 in the four-step RACH) and the contention resolution (Msg 4 in the four-step RACH). The two-step RACH may need to operate in a cell having any cell size and should be capable of operating regardless of whether the terminal device has a valid Timing Advance (TA).

When the terminal device is unsynchronized (i.e., it does not have a valid uplink TA), the MsgA is sent without any timing advance, and the arrival time of the MsgA at the network device depends on the round trip delay. As shown in fig. 1, a signal 110 from a terminal device located near a network device arrives with zero or very small time delay relative to a network device reference time. Signals 120 from terminal devices located at the cell edge arrive with a large time delay relative to the network device reference time. In this case, the time delay 130 is equal to the maximum round trip delay depending on the cell radius. For example only, for a cell with a radius of 100km, the difference between the signal arrival time of the earliest terminal located close to the network device and the signal arrival time of the latest terminal device is 667 musec. For a system with 15kHz subcarrier spacing (SCS), this corresponds to less than 10 OFDM symbols. Any terminal device within the cell has an arrival time between 0 and 667 musec.

Due to the large delay difference, separate front-end FFT processing may be required for each terminal device. Further, in the case of several time division multiplexed PUSCH occasions for MsgA, a large guard period is inserted between each PUSCH occasion and the next PUSCH occasion to account for the time difference of arrival between the earliest and latest UE signals within the cell, which reduces the overall efficiency.

In general, if the terminal devices are time synchronized at the network device, a single front-end FFT is used for all terminal devices. However, if the terminal devices are not synchronized, i.e. the signals arrive with different delays exceeding the CP duration, the common FFT is no longer used. Instead, multiple FFTs are required, each covering a time window of arrival that does not exceed the CP duration. In the most extreme case, if the arrival time of each terminal device signal differs from the arrival time of the other terminal devices by more than the duration of the CP duration, each terminal device may require separate FFT processing and may still suffer from intersymbol and inter-carrier interference, resulting in loss of orthogonality from the other terminal devices.

An alternative to having separate FFT processing is to filter the signal of each terminal device at the network device to advance the terminal device by a time equal to the delay of the signal of the terminal device, and then add the signal of the terminal device to the received signal again. Thereafter, a common FFT can be used for all terminal devices. However, filtering and time-advancing the signal of each terminal device to time align it to the reference time of the network device increases the computational complexity of the network device. Furthermore, this approach may not fully compensate for the loss of orthogonality because the signals are received out of synchronization with each other.

A second problem with long round trip delay is that there should be a guard period after each time domain PUSCH occasion, where the guard period is at least as long as the round trip delay. This reduces the overall efficiency of the MsgA PUSCH. Fig. 2 shows PUSCH occasions with guard periods in between. For example, a cell with a cell radius of 75km (which corresponds to 500 musec RTT) has a guard period of 7 OFDM symbols (with 15 kHzSCS). If the duration of the MsgA PUSCH is also 7 OFDM symbols, the efficiency of the MsgA PUSCH transmission is 50% after considering the guard period.

Another method for handling uplink transmissions from a terminal device with a large RTT and no valid TA is for the terminal device to apply timing adjustment based on downlink measurements of Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP). However, this is inaccurate because there may be large variations in RSRP for the same terminal device-to-network device distance due to shadowing and fading effects.

Alternatively, the network device may estimate the timing offset of the uplink transmission by processing the MsgA preamble. Based on the timing offset estimate, the network device may perform timing adjustment and/or terminal device grouping. Multiple processing time windows may be applied to groups of terminal devices featuring different timing offset ranges. However, this increases the gNB computational complexity. Thus, new mechanisms for unsynchronized uplink transmissions are needed.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a network device transmits information indicating a structure of an uplink signal to a terminal device. The information indicates that the length of the cyclic prefix is the same as the length of the sequence in one symbol. The cyclic prefix repeats the sequence. In this way, a common frequency domain transformation is applied to all terminal devices, which simplifies the receiver processing at the network device. In addition, allocation of PUSCH opportunities is more efficient.

The principles and embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Referring initially to fig. 3, an example communication system 300 is illustrated in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented.

Fig. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of a communication system 300 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. The link from the first device 310 to the second device 320 may be referred to as a "downlink" and the link from the second device 320 to the first device 310 may be referred to as an "uplink". The procedure described as being implemented at the terminal device can also be implemented at the network device, and the procedure described as being implemented at the network device can also be implemented at the terminal device. For illustration purposes, the first device 310 is referred to hereinafter as a network device 310, and the second device 320 is referred to hereinafter as a terminal device.

The communication system 300, which is part of a communication network, includes terminal devices 320-1, 32-2, 320-N (collectively, "terminal devices 320", where N is an integer). Communication system 300 includes network device 310. Terminal device 320 and network device 310 may communicate with each other.

It should be understood that communication system 300 may also include other elements that have been omitted for clarity. It should be understood that the number of terminal devices and network devices shown in fig. 3 are given for illustrative purposes and do not imply any limitation.

It should be understood that the number of network devices and terminal devices is for illustration purposes only and does not imply any limitation. System 300 may include any suitable number of network devices and terminal devices suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

Communication in communication system 300 may be implemented in accordance with any suitable communication protocol including, but not limited to, first generation (1G), second generation (2G), third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), fifth generation (5G), etc., cellular communication protocols, wireless local area network communication protocols such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, etc., and/or any other protocol currently known or developed in the future. Further, the communication may utilize any suitable wireless communication technology including, but not limited to: code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), frequency Division Duplex (FDD), time Division Duplex (TDD), multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO), orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), discrete fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM), and/or any other technique currently known or developed in the future.

Fig. 4 shows a schematic diagram of an interaction 400 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The interaction 400 may be implemented on any suitable device. For illustrative purposes only, the interaction 400 is described as being implemented at the terminal device 320-1 and the network device 310.

In some embodiments, network device 310 may determine 400 a configuration of uplink transmissions. For example, if a certain random access procedure is a trigger, the network device may determine the configuration of the uplink transmission. The specific random access procedure may refer to a two-step RACH. It should be noted that other suitable system operations may also cause network device 310 to determine the configuration. The configuration of the uplink transmission introduces an extreme cyclic prefix and provides symbol interleaving to operate in cases where large transmission time misalignment values are required. The configuration indicates that the length of the cyclic prefix is the same as the length of the sequence in one symbol.

Fig. 5 shows an example of a symbol structure 500 of an uplink signal. The symbol includes a cyclic prefix 5010 and a sequence 5020. The cyclic prefix 5010 (denoted n_cp) has a length equal to the sequence 5020 (denoted N _seq ) Is a length of (c). In this way, the sequence 5020 is replicated and repeated, effectively creating very long cyclic prefixes. In some embodiments, structure 500 may be applied to some specific operations, while normal operations may use a standard configuration of cyclic prefix.

The network device 310 sends 4010 the configuration to the terminal device 320-1. In some embodiments, if a two-step RACH is triggered, the network device 310 may send the configuration. In some embodiments, the network device 310 may configure PUSCH occasions to monitor signals. Fig. 6 shows an example structure 600 of PUSCH opportunities. The network device 310 may configure consecutive PUSCH occasions, e.g., PUSCH occasions 6010-1, 6010-2, and 6010-3. As shown in fig. 6, there is no gap between PUSCH occasions. The network device 310 may configure a gap, such as gap 6020, at the end of consecutive PUSCH occasions. In some embodiments, the duration of the gap 6020 may be equal to the maximum round trip delay within the cell. Alternatively, the duration of the gap 6020 may be greater than the maximum round trip delay. In this way, efficiency is improved since there is a single gap at the end of the set of PUSCH occasions, rather than a gap after each PUSCH occasion. Note that the number of PUSCH occasions and gaps shown in fig. 6 is only one example. The network device 310 may configure any suitable number of PUSCH occasions.

The terminal device 320-1 generates 4015 the signal based on the configuration. The length of the cyclic prefix and the length of the sequence in the signal are equal to each other. Terminal device 320-1 sends 4020 the signal to network device 310.

The network device 310 performs a frequency domain transform 4030 of the signal. In some embodiments, the network device 310 may generate a set of time windows for the frequency domain transform. For example, the frequency domain transform may be a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). Alternatively, the frequency domain transform may be a discrete fast fourier transform. It should be noted that the frequency domain transform may be any suitable transform. For illustration purposes only, the frequency domain transform may be referred to hereinafter as an FFT. The length of the time window may be equal to the length of the cyclic prefix and sequence. Network device 310 may determine at least one target time window for the signal based on the delay of terminal device 320-1. The term "window" as used herein refers to the duration of acquisition of a portion of a signal. Network device 310 may acquire the portion of the signal during a time window and perform a frequency domain transform on the portion of the signal. An embodiment of the process is described with reference to fig. 7-10.

As shown in fig. 7, the network device 310 generates a set of time windows, time window 7010-0, time window 7010-1, time window 7010-2, time window 7010-3, time window 7010-4, time window 7010-5, time window 7010-6, time window 7010-7, and time window 7010-8. It should be noted that the number of time windows is for illustration purposes only. The signal 710 shown in fig. 7 may be received from the terminal device 320-1 and the signal 720 may be received from the terminal device 320-2. As shown in fig. 7, there are two parts, cyclic prefix and sequence, for each symbol. The signal 710 includes a symbol 7100 comprising a cyclic prefix 7100-1 and a sequence 7100-2, a symbol 7101 comprising a cyclic prefix 7101-1 and a sequence 7101-2, a symbol 7102 comprising a cyclic prefix 7102-1 and a sequence 7102-2, and a symbol 7103 comprising a cyclic prefix 7103-1 and a sequence 7103-2. The signal 720 includes a symbol 7200 including a cyclic prefix 7200-1 and a sequence 7200-2, a symbol 7201 including a cyclic prefix 7201-1 and a sequence 7201-2, a symbol 7202 including a cyclic prefix 7202-1 and a sequence 7201-2, and a symbol 7203 including a cyclic prefix 7203-1 and a sequence 7203-2. It should be noted that the signal may include any suitable number of symbols.

Assuming that the time window starting at the base station reference time is time window 7010-0, the target time window for processing signal 710 is determined based on the delay of terminal device 320-1 as follows:

wherein N is _Delay Is the estimated time delay of preamble detection from terminal device 320-u and is%modulo operator.

For example, time window 7010-1 overlaps symbol 7100. As described above, the cyclic prefix 7100-1 and the sequence 7100-2 are the same length, and the cyclic prefix 7100-1 is copied from the sequence 7100-2. In addition, since the length of time window 7010-1 is the same as sequence 7100-2, the portion of symbol 7100 that overlaps time window 7010-1 includes all of the information carried in sequence 7100-2. Thus, the time window 7010-1 may be determined as the target time window for processing the symbol 7100. The network device 310 may obtain a portion of the symbol 7100 during the time window 7010-1 and perform an FFT on the obtained portion. Similarly, time windows 7010-3, 7010-5, and 7010-7 may be used to process symbol 7101, symbol 7102, and symbol 7103, respectively. Time windows 7010-2, 7010-4, 7010-6, and 7010-8 may be used to process symbols 7200, 7201, 7202, and 7203, respectively. In other words, the determination of the even or odd time window is based on the fact that the selected time window should overlap with the cyclic prefix/sequence of the same OFDM symbol.

As described above, in some embodiments, the network device 310 may configure consecutive PUSCH occasions without inserting guard periods between consecutive PUSCH occasions. In this case, the same time window may correspond to symbols in different PUSCH opportunities as shown in fig. 8. As shown in fig. 8, there are consecutive PUSCH occasions 801-1 and 801-2. Signal 810 from terminal device 320-1, signal 820 from terminal device 320-2, signal 830 from terminal device 320-3 (not shown), and signal 840 from terminal device 320-4 (not shown). In fig. 8, a second time window 803 in PUSCH occasion 801-2 may be used for symbol 8023 including cyclic prefix 8023-1 and sequence 8023-2, and symbol 8040 including cyclic prefix 8040-1 and sequence 8040-2.

In some embodiments, network device 310 may receive multipath signals. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, signal 910 and signal 920 are both from terminal device 320-1. Signal 910 and signal 920 are multipath signals for terminal device 320-1. The set of time windows 901 includes time windows 9010-0, time window 9010-1, time window 9010-2, and time window 9010-3. Time windows 9010-0, 9010-2, and 9010-4 may be used for signal 910, while time windows 9010-1 and 9010-3 may be used for signal 920. When delay spread 930 between signal 910 and signal 920 crosses a time window boundary, time window set 901 may not provide ideal reception. Network device 310 may compare delay spread 930 between signal 910 and signal 920 to the length of the cyclic prefix. If the delay spread 930 is less than half the cyclic prefix length, then to overcome the significant delay spread 930, the network device 310 may determine another set of time windows 902 including time window 9020-0, time window 9020-1, time window 9020-2, time window 020-3, and time window 9020-4. The offset between window 9010-0 and window 9020-0 may be half the window. Another set of time windows 902 may be used to process signals 910 and 920 because delay spread 930 is less than half the CP or FFT window length. For example, time window 9020-1 would completely overlap with symbol 9100 and symbol 9200 and would then be used for ideal reception of the first symbol.

Alternatively or additionally, to account for significant delay spread when one multipath of a signal of a terminal device is in an even window and another multipath of the signal of the same terminal device is in an odd window, if network device 310 determines that the target window of the signal and another signal are different, network device 310 may obtain a portion of the signal and another portion of the other signal from different time windows. The network device 310 may perform a frequency domain transform on the portion of the signal and the other portion of the other signal and combine the transformed portion and the other portion of the transform after delay alignment between the other signal and the signal.

In some embodiments, if the maximum round trip time is small, then two time windows may be used for the same symbol. As shown in fig. 10, signal 1010 is from terminal device 320-1 with zero round trip time and signal 1020 is from terminal device 320-2 with the maximum round trip time. Since the maximum round trip time is below the threshold time, as shown in FIG. 10, time windows 10002-1 and 10001-1 can be used for symbols 10010 including cyclic prefix 10010-1 and sequence 10010-2, time windows 10002-2 and 10001-2 can be used for symbols 10011 including cyclic prefix 10011-1 and sequence 10011-2, and time windows 10002-3 and 10001-3 can be used for symbols 10012 including cyclic prefix 10012-1 and sequence 10012-2. Similarly, time window 10002-1 and time window 10001-1 can be for symbol 10020 including cyclic prefix 10020-1 and sequence 10020-2, time window 10002-2 and time window 10001-2 can be for symbol 10021 including cyclic prefix 10021-1 and sequence 10021-2, and time window 10002-3 and time window 10001-3 can be for symbol 10022 including cyclic prefix 10022-1 and sequence 10022-2. Furthermore, even though time window 10002-1 and time window 10001-1 may be used for symbol 10010, time window 10002-1 and time window 10001-1 may be used for different portions of the symbol. Network device 310 may perform frequency domain on different portions of the symbol and combine the different portions of the transformed symbol. In this way, using two time windows for the same symbol with different samples may improve reception reliability.

Alternatively or additionally, the network device 310 may generate two sets of windows. For example, the network device 310 may generate the set of time windows 700 shown in fig. 7 and generate another set of time windows slightly offset from the even time windows in the set of time windows 700. In this way an improved detection reliability can be provided for a terminal device with a short round trip time (reception according to fig. 10), whereas a terminal device with a large round trip time will be received according to fig. 7.

Fig. 11 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 1100 implemented at a network device according to some embodiments of the disclosure. Method 1100 may be implemented at any suitable device. For discussion purposes, the method 1100 will be described from the perspective of the network device 310 with reference to fig. 3.

At block 1110, the network device 310 sends a configuration of uplink transmissions. For example, if a certain random access procedure is a trigger, the network device may determine the configuration of the uplink transmission. The specific random access procedure may refer to a two-step RACH. It should be noted that other suitable system operations may also cause network device 310 to determine the configuration. The configuration of the uplink transmission introduces an extreme cyclic prefix and provides symbol interleaving to operate in cases where large transmission time misalignment values are required. The configuration indicates that the length of the cyclic prefix is the same as the length of the sequence in one symbol. In some embodiments, if a two-step RACH is triggered, the network device 310 may send the configuration.

At block 1120, the network device 310 receives a signal generated based on the configuration. In some embodiments, the network device 310 may configure PUSCH occasions to monitor signals. The network device 310 may configure consecutive PUSCH occasions, which means that there is no gap between PUSCH occasions. The network device 310 may configure the gap at the end of consecutive PUSCH occasions. In some embodiments, the duration of the gap may be equal to the maximum round trip delay within the cell. Alternatively, the duration of the gap may be greater than the maximum round trip delay.

At block 1130, the network device 310 performs a frequency domain transform on the signal. In some embodiments, network device 310 may generate a set of time windows for the frequency domain transform. For example, the frequency domain transform may be a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). Alternatively, the frequency domain transform may be a discrete fast fourier transform. It should be noted that the frequency domain transform may be any suitable transform. For illustration purposes only, the frequency domain transform may be referred to hereinafter as an FFT. The length of the time window may be equal to the length of the cyclic prefix or sequence. Network device 310 may determine at least one target time window for the signal based on the delay of terminal device 320-1. Network device 310 may acquire the portion of the signal during a time window and perform a frequency domain transform on the portion of the signal.

In some embodiments, network device 310 may receive another signal from terminal device 320-1. The other signal and signal are multipath signals of the terminal device 320-1. If an even time window of the set of time windows is used to process a signal and an odd time window of the set of time windows is used to process another signal, network device 310 may generate another set of time windows for processing signals.

Alternatively or additionally, the network device 310 may utilize the set of time windows to process the signal and another signal. Network device 310 may perform a frequency domain transform on the portion of the signal and another portion of another signal. The network device 310 may combine the transformed signal and the transformed further signal after delay alignment between the further signal and the signal.

In some embodiments, network device 310 may determine that the target time window of the signal is different from another target time window of another signal. The network device 310 may obtain a portion of a signal during a target time window (e.g., an even window) and another portion of another signal during another target window (e.g., an odd window). Network device 310 may perform a frequency domain transform on the portion of the signal and another portion of another signal. The network device 310 may combine the transformed signal and the transformed further signal after delay alignment between the further signal and the signal.

In other embodiments, the network device 310 may process the signal using two sets of time windows if the round trip delay is less than the threshold delay. For example, two time windows may be used to process one symbol in the signal. More specifically, network device 310 may obtain a first portion of the signal during the set of time windows and a second portion of the signal during another set of windows. The first portion and the second portion belong to one symbol in the signal. The network device 310 may perform a frequency domain transform on the first and second portions of the signal and combine the transformed first and second portions with another portion of the signal.

Fig. 12 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 1200 implemented at a terminal device according to some embodiments of the disclosure. Method 1200 may be implemented at any suitable device. For discussion purposes, the method 1200 will be described from the perspective of the terminal 320-1 with reference to fig. 3.

At block 1210, the terminal device 320-1 receives a configuration of uplink traffic. For example, if a certain random access procedure is a trigger, the network device may determine the configuration of the uplink transmission. The specific random access procedure may refer to a two-step RACH. It should be noted that other suitable system operations may also cause network device 310 to determine the configuration. The configuration of the uplink transmission introduces an extreme cyclic prefix and provides symbol interleaving to operate in cases where large transmission time misalignment values are required. The configuration indicates that the length of the cyclic prefix is the same as the length of the sequence in one symbol. In some embodiments, if a two-step RACH is triggered, the network device 310 may send the configuration.

At block 1220, the terminal device 320-1 generates a signal based on the configuration. In some embodiments, if a two-step RACH is triggered, the terminal device 320-1 generates a signal based on the configuration. In some embodiments, the terminal device 320-1 may obtain the length of the cyclic prefix and the length of the sequence from the configuration. The terminal device 320-1 may generate the cyclic prefix portion by copying the sequence.

At block 1230, the terminal device 320-1 sends a signal to the network device 310. For example, the signal may be transmitted on PUSCH.

In some embodiments, an apparatus (e.g., network device 310) for performing method 1100 may include respective components for performing respective steps in method 1100. These components may be implemented in any suitable manner. For example, it may be implemented by a circuit or a software module.

In some embodiments, the apparatus includes means for sending a configuration of an uplink transmission from a first device to a second device, the configuration indicating that a length of a cyclic prefix is the same as a length of a sequence in one symbol; means for receiving a signal generated based on the configuration from the second device; and means for performing a frequency domain transform on the signal.

In some embodiments, the means for sending the configuration of the uplink transmission comprises: means for sending a configuration of the uplink transmission if it is determined that the random access procedure is triggered.

In some embodiments, the random access procedure comprises a two-step random access procedure.

In some embodiments, the means for performing a frequency domain transform on the signal comprises means for generating a set of time windows for a fast fourier transform, one time window of the set of time windows having a length that is the same as a length of the cyclic prefix; and means for determining at least one target time window for processing the signal based on an overlap between the set of time windows and the signal.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for receiving another signal from the second device, the other signal and the signal being multipath signals of the second device; means for comparing a delay spread between the signal and the other signal with a length of a cyclic prefix; and means for generating a further set of time windows for processing the signal and the further signal if the delay spread is determined to be less than half the length of the cyclic prefix.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for receiving another signal from the second device; means for obtaining a portion of the signal during the target time window and another portion of the other signal during the other target time window if it is determined that the target time window of the signal and the other target time window of the other signal are different; means for performing a frequency domain transform on a portion of a signal and another portion of another signal; and means for combining the transformed portion of the signal with the transformed other portion of the other signal after delay alignment between the other signal and the signal.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for comparing a round trip delay between the first device and the second device to be less than a threshold delay; means for generating another set of windows if the round trip delay is determined to be less than the threshold delay; means for obtaining a first portion of the signal during the set of time windows and a second portion of the signal during another set of windows; means for performing a frequency domain transform on the first portion and the second portion of the signal; and means for combining the transformed first and second portions of the signal.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for configuring a set of Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) occasions to monitor the signal, the set of PUSCH occasions having no gaps between each other; and means for configuring a gap at the end of the set of PUSCH occasions, the duration of the gap being no less than a round trip delay between the first device and the second device.

In some embodiments, the first device comprises a network device and the second device comprises a terminal device.

In some embodiments, the frequency domain transform comprises a fast fourier transform.

In some embodiments, the apparatus includes means for receiving, at the second device, a configuration of an uplink transmission from the first device, the configuration indicating that a length of the cyclic prefix is the same as a length of a sequence in one symbol; means for generating a signal based on the configuration; and means for transmitting the signal to the first device.

In some embodiments, the means for generating a signal comprises: means for generating a cyclic prefix by replicating the sequence.

In some embodiments, the means for receiving a configuration of uplink transmissions comprises: means for receiving a configuration of the uplink transmission if it is determined that the random access procedure is triggered.

Fig. 13 is a simplified block diagram of a device 1300 suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. Device 1300 may be used to implement a communication device, such as network device 310 or terminal device 320-1 shown in fig. 3. As shown, the device 1300 includes one or more processors 1310, one or more memories 1320 coupled to the processors 1310, and one or more communication modules (e.g., a transmitter and/or receiver (TX/RX)) 1340 coupled to the processors 1310.

The communication module 1340 is used for two-way communication. The communication module 1340 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication. The communication interface may represent any interface required to communicate with other network elements.

The processor 1310 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network and may include, as non-limiting examples, one or more of the following: general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital Signal Processors (DSPs), and processors based on a multi-core processor architecture. The device 1300 may have multiple processors, such as an application-specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock that is synchronized to the master processor.

Memory 1320 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memory include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 1324, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, a hard disk, a Compact Disk (CD), a Digital Video Disk (DVD), and other magnetic and/or optical storage devices. Examples of volatile memory include, but are not limited to, random Access Memory (RAM) 1322 and other volatile memory that does not last for the duration of the power outage.

The computer program 1330 includes computer-executable instructions that are executed by an associated processor 1310. Program 1330 may be stored in ROM 1324. Processor 1310 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading program 1330 into RAM 1322.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by the program 1330 such that the device 1300 may perform any of the processes of the present disclosure as discussed with reference to fig. 4-10. Embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented in hardware or a combination of software and hardware.

In some embodiments, program 1330 may be tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium that may be included in device 1300 (such as in memory 1320) or other storage device accessible to device 1300. The device 1300 may load the program 1330 from a computer readable medium into RAM 1322 for execution. The computer readable medium may include any type of tangible, non-volatile memory, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. Fig. 14 shows an example of a computer readable medium 1400 in the form of a CD or DVD. The computer readable medium has a program 1330 stored thereon.

In general, the various embodiments of the disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. While various aspects of the embodiments of the disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other pictorial representation, it is well understood that the blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product comprises computer executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, that are executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform the methods 500-700 and interactions described above with reference to fig. 2-8. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data types, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired in various embodiments. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed within local or distributed devices. In distributed devices, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage media.

Program code for carrying out the methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program code may be provided to a processor or controller of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus such that the program code, when executed by the processor or controller, causes the functions/operations specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram to be implemented. The program code may execute entirely on the machine, partly on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine or entirely on the remote machine or server.

In the context of this disclosure, computer program code or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable an apparatus, device, or processor to perform the various processes and operations described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer readable media, and the like.

The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. The computer readable medium may include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, apparatus or devices, or any suitable combination thereof. More specific examples of a computer-readable storage medium include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination thereof.

Moreover, although operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Also, while the above discussion contains several specific implementation details, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination.

Although the disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A first device, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code;

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

transmitting a configuration of an uplink transmission to a second device, the configuration indicating that a length of a cyclic prefix is the same as a length of a sequence in one symbol;

receiving a signal from the second device generated based on the configuration; and

a frequency domain transform is performed on the signal,

wherein the first device is further caused to perform a frequency domain transform on the signal by:

generating a set of time windows for the frequency domain transform, a length of one of the set of time windows being the same as a length of the cyclic prefix; and

at least one target time window for processing the signal is determined based on an overlap between the set of time windows and the signal.

2. The first device of claim 1, wherein the first device is caused to send the configuration of the uplink transmission by:

and if the random access procedure is determined to be triggered, sending the configuration of the uplink transmission.

3. The first device of claim 2, wherein the random access procedure comprises a two-step random access procedure.

4. The first device of claim 1, wherein the first device is further caused to:

receiving another signal from the second device, the other signal and the signal being multipath signals of the second device;

comparing a delay spread between the signal and the other signal with a length of the cyclic prefix; and

if the delay spread is determined to be less than half the length of the cyclic prefix, another set of time windows for processing the signal and the other signal is generated.

5. The first device of claim 1, wherein the first device is further caused to:

obtaining a portion of the signal during the target time window and another portion of the other signal during the other target time window if the target time window for the signal and the other target time window for the other signal are determined to be different;

Performing the frequency domain transform on the portion of the signal and the other portion of the other signal; and

after delay alignment between the further signal and the signal, the transformed part of the signal and the transformed part of the further signal are combined.

6. The first device of claim 1, wherein the first device is further caused to:

comparing a round trip delay between the first device and the second device to be less than a threshold delay;

generating another set of windows if it is determined that the round trip delay is less than the threshold delay;

obtaining a first portion of the signal during the set of time windows and a second portion of the signal during the other set of windows;

performing the frequency domain transform on the first portion and the second portion of the signal; and

the transformed first portion and the transformed second portion of the signal are combined.

7. The first device of claim 1, wherein the first device is further caused to:

a set of Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) occasions configured to monitor the signal, the set of PUSCH occasions having no gaps between each other; a kind of electronic device with a high-performance liquid crystal display

A gap is configured at the end of the set of PUSCH occasions, the duration of the gap being equal to or greater than a round trip delay between the first device and the second device.

8. The first device of claim 1, wherein the first device comprises a network device and the second device comprises a terminal device.

9. The first device of claim 1, wherein the frequency domain transform comprises a fast fourier transform.

10. A second device, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code;

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

receiving a configuration of an uplink transmission from a first device, the configuration indicating that a length of a cyclic prefix is the same as a length of a sequence in one symbol;

generating a signal based on the configuration; and

transmitting the signal to the first device,

wherein the signal is processed by the first device using a frequency domain transform as follows:

generating a set of time windows for the frequency domain transform, a length of one of the set of time windows being the same as a length of the cyclic prefix; a kind of electronic device with a high-performance liquid crystal display

11. A second device as claimed in claim 10, wherein the second device is caused to generate the signal by:

the cyclic prefix is generated by copying the sequence.

12. The second device of claim 10, wherein the second device is caused to receive the configuration of the uplink transmission by:

and if it is determined that a random access procedure is triggered, receiving a configuration of the uplink transmission.

13. The second device of claim 12, wherein the random access procedure comprises a two-step random access procedure.

14. The second device of claim 10, wherein the first device comprises a network device and the second device comprises a terminal device.

15. A method, comprising:

transmitting a configuration of an uplink transmission from a first device to a second device, the configuration indicating that a length of a cyclic prefix is the same as a length of a sequence in one symbol;

a frequency domain transform is performed on the signal,

Wherein said performing a frequency domain transform on said signal comprises:

16. The method of claim 15, wherein sending the configuration of the uplink transmission comprises:

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the random access procedure comprises a two-step random access procedure.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

19. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

20. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

21. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

a set of Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) occasions configured to monitor the signal, the set of PUSCH occasions having no gaps between each other; and

22. The method of claim 15, wherein the first device comprises a network device and the second device comprises a terminal device.

23. The method of claim 15, wherein the frequency domain transform comprises a fast fourier transform.

24. A method, comprising:

at the second device, receiving a configuration of the uplink transmission from the first device, the configuration indicating that a length of the cyclic prefix is the same as a length of a sequence in one symbol;

generating a signal based on the configuration; and

transmitting the signal to the first device,

25. The method of claim 24, wherein generating the signal comprises:

the cyclic prefix is generated by copying the sequence.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein receiving the configuration of the uplink transmission comprises:

the configuration of the uplink transmission is received if it is determined that a random access procedure is triggered.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the random access procedure comprises a two-step random access procedure.

28. The method of claim 24, wherein the first device comprises a network device and the second device comprises a terminal device.

29. An apparatus, comprising:

means for performing the process according to any one of claims 15-28.

30. An apparatus, comprising:

circuitry configured to cause the apparatus to perform the process of any one of claims 15-28.

31. A computer readable storage medium having program code embodied therein for causing data processing apparatus to perform the process of any of claims 15-28.