CN114731602A

CN114731602A - Electronic device and method for wireless communication, computer-readable storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN114731602A
Application number: CN202080079981.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 许晓东; 原英婷; 陈冠宇; 刘睿; 张书蒙; 崔焘
Original assignee: Sony Group Corp
Current assignee: Sony Group Corp
Priority date: 2019-11-29
Filing date: 2020-11-24
Publication date: 2022-07-08
Also published as: WO2021104240A1; CN112888060A

Abstract

The present disclosure provides an electronic device, a method, and a computer-readable storage medium for wireless communication, the electronic device including: a processing circuit configured to: determining whether a first predetermined condition is satisfied; and in an instance in which it is determined that the first predetermined condition is satisfied, determining whether to adjust a Timing Advance (TA) of a child node of the IAB node, the determining comprising instructing the child node to perform uplink transmission and determining whether to adjust the TA based on a timing of receiving the uplink transmission.

Description

Electronic device and method for wireless communication, computer-readable storage medium

The present application claims priority from chinese patent application filed on 29/11/2019 under the name "electronic device and method for wireless communication, computer readable storage medium", having application number 201911201681.7, filed in chinese patent office, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of wireless communication technologies, and in particular, to a synchronization technology in an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) network. And more particularly, to an electronic device and method for wireless communication and a computer-readable storage medium.

Background

In an IAB network, Timing Advance (TA) based synchronization, including synchronization over multiple back-hop (backhaul) between IAB nodes, may be supported. Among them, the IAB node is also called an IAB base station, and the IAB node having a wired connection with the core network is called a home (donor) IAB node. When one IAB base station controls and/or schedules another IAB base station, the one IAB base station is called a parent node and the other IAB base station is called a child node. The parent node and the child node have a wireless backhaul link therebetween. Fig. 1 shows an illustrative example of a multi-hop IAB network, where the link between home IAB node and IAB node 1 is the first hop, IAB node 1 is the 2 nd hop from IAB node 2, and IAB node 2 is the 3 rd hop from IAB node 3.

TA-based synchronization for a User Equipment (UE) involves two procedures: random access response and TA adjustment procedure. For the TA adjustment procedure, the network continuously measures the time difference between the reception of a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) or Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) or Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) and the subframe time, and may send a TA command (TAC) to the UE, e.g., via the MAC CE, to change the transmission timing of the PUSCH/PUCCH to better align it with the subframe timing on the network side.

Disclosure of Invention

A brief summary of the disclosure is provided below in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosure. It should be understood that this summary is not an exhaustive overview of the disclosure. It is not intended to identify key or critical elements of the disclosure or to delineate the scope of the disclosure. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is discussed later.

According to an aspect of the present application, there is provided an electronic device for wireless communication, comprising: a processing circuit configured to: determining whether a first predetermined condition is satisfied; and in the event that it is determined that the first predetermined condition is satisfied, determining whether to adjust a Timing Advance (TA) of a child node of the IAB node, the determining comprising instructing the child node to perform uplink transmission and determining whether to adjust the TA based on a timing of receipt of the uplink transmission.

According to an aspect of the present application, there is provided a method for wireless communication, comprising: determining whether a first predetermined condition is satisfied; and in an instance in which it is determined that the first predetermined condition is satisfied, determining whether to adjust a Timing Advance (TA) of a child node of the IAB node, the determining comprising instructing the child node to perform uplink transmission and determining whether to adjust the TA based on a timing of receiving the uplink transmission.

According to another aspect of the present application, there is provided an electronic device for wireless communication, comprising: a processing circuit configured to: determining whether a second predetermined condition is satisfied; and transmitting a TA adjustment request to a parent node of the IAB node if it is determined that the second predetermined condition is satisfied.

According to another aspect of the present application, there is provided a method for wireless communication, comprising: determining whether a second predetermined condition is satisfied; and in the event that it is determined that the second predetermined condition is satisfied, transmitting a TA adjustment request to a parent node of the IAB node.

According to the electronic equipment and the method, the sub-node of the IAB node is actively triggered to execute uplink transmission, so that the TA adjustment timeliness is improved, and the TA-based synchronous network performance is improved.

According to other aspects of the present invention, there are also provided a computer program code and a computer program product for implementing the above-described method for wireless communication, and a computer-readable storage medium having recorded thereon the computer program code for implementing the above-described method for wireless communication.

These and other advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

To further clarify the above and other advantages and features of the present invention, a more particular description of embodiments of the invention will be rendered by reference to the appended drawings. Which are incorporated in and form a part of this specification, along with the detailed description that follows. Elements having the same function and structure are denoted by the same reference numerals. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only typical examples of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. In the drawings:

fig. 1 shows one illustrative example of a multi-hop IAB network;

FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of an electronic device for wireless communication according to one embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 shows one illustrative example of the flow of information between a parent node and a child node when making TA adjustments;

FIG. 4 shows a functional block diagram of an electronic device for wireless communication according to another embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 5 shows another illustrative example of information flow between a parent node and a child node when TA adjustments are made;

fig. 6 shows a flow diagram of a method for wireless communication according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 shows a flow diagram of a method for wireless communication according to another embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a first example of a schematic configuration of an eNB or a gNB to which the techniques of this disclosure may be applied;

fig. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a second example of a schematic configuration of an eNB or a gNB to which the techniques of this disclosure may be applied; and

fig. 10 is a block diagram of an exemplary architecture of a general-purpose personal computer in which methods and/or apparatus and/or systems according to embodiments of the invention may be implemented.

Detailed Description

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the interest of clarity and conciseness, not all features of an actual implementation are described in the specification. It will of course be appreciated that in the development of any such actual embodiment, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which will vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.

It should be noted that, in order to avoid obscuring the present invention with unnecessary details, only the device structure and/or the processing steps closely related to the scheme according to the present invention are shown in the drawings, and other details not so much related to the present invention are omitted.

< first embodiment >

For example, in the example of the IAB network shown in fig. 1, the TA may be set based on the distance between the parent node and the child node. It should be noted that parent and child nodes are relative concepts, and a parent node in a next hop can be simultaneously a child node of a previous hop. The parent node may be a home IAB node or a normal IAB node, and the child node refers to a normal IAB node. For a fixed IAB network, i.e., IAB nodes are essentially immobile, the TA of the backhaul does not change for a long time because the distance between IAB nodes is constant. However, for a mobile IAB network, i.e., the location of the IAB nodes changes over time, such that the distance between IAB nodes and the distance between the IAB nodes and the home IAB node may change constantly, thus requiring dynamic adjustment of the TA to maintain synchronization between the various nodes. Especially in a multi-hop IAB network, a downstream IAB node is affected by an upstream IAB node, so that the TA error is also accumulated.

In order to timely and flexibly perform TA adjustment to avoid network performance degradation and even time misalignment in a multi-hop scenario, the present embodiment provides an electronic device 100 that aims to solve or mitigate this problem. It should be understood that although the electronic device 100 is proposed to solve the technical problem, the application scope thereof is not limited thereto, and may be suitably applied to various occasions where TA needs to be adjusted.

Fig. 2 shows a functional block diagram of an electronic device 100 for wireless communication according to an embodiment of the application, and as shown in fig. 2, the electronic device 100 comprises: a determination unit 101 configured to determine whether a first predetermined condition is satisfied; and a determining unit 102 configured to determine whether to adjust the timing advance TA of the sub-node of the IAB node, in a case where it is determined that the first predetermined condition is satisfied, the determining including instructing the sub-node to perform uplink transmission and determining whether to adjust the TA based on a timing at which the uplink transmission is received.

Therein, the determining unit 101 and the judging unit 102 may be implemented by one or more processing circuits, which may be implemented as a chip, for example. Also, it should be understood that the functional units in the apparatus shown in fig. 2 are only logical modules divided according to the specific functions implemented by the functional units, and are not used to limit the specific implementation manner.

The electronic device 100 may be provided on, for example, an IAB node as a parent node. For example, the electronic device 100 may be provided on the base station side or communicably connected to a base station. Here, it is also noted that the electronic device 100 may be implemented at the chip level, or also at the device level. For example, the electronic device 100 may operate as an IAB base station itself and may also include external devices such as memory, transceivers (not shown), and the like. The memory may be used to store programs and related data information that the base station needs to perform to implement various functions. The transceiver may include one or more communication interfaces to support communication with different devices (e.g., user equipment, other IAB base stations, core network devices, etc.), and the implementation of the transceiver is not limited in particular herein.

According to this embodiment, the parent node triggers an operation of adjusting the determination of the TA of its child node if a first predetermined condition is satisfied. The determination includes the parent node instructing the child node to perform an uplink transmission and determining whether the TA of the child node needs to be adjusted by, for example, comparing a time difference between a reception timing of the uplink transmission and a subframe timing. For example, when the time difference is greater than a predetermined degree, it is determined that the TA of the child node is to be adjusted. The uplink transmission here may include, for example, transmission of an aperiodic SRS. Specifically, the parent node triggers the child node to transmit an aperiodic SRS through Downlink Control Information (DCI) so that uplink transmission is performed even if the child node has no uplink transmission plan, thereby enabling the parent node to adjust the TA of the child node if necessary based on the reception of the uplink transmission.

Accordingly, the determining unit 102 may be further configured to generate a TA adjustment command to send to the child node if it is determined that the TA of the child node is to be adjusted. The TA adjustment command may be, for example, the aforementioned TAC and sent by the MAC CE, where a new TA or a TA adjustment amount may be included.

Therefore, the present embodiment proposes a downward notification mechanism for TA management of its child nodes from the perspective of the parent node.

Wherein the first predetermined condition is a condition for evaluating the occurrence of a situation in which it is likely that the TA of the child node needs to be adjusted. For example, the first predetermined condition may include one or more of: receiving a new TA from a parent node of the IAB node; receiving no uplink transmission from the child node within a time period of a predetermined length; the motion state of the child node is changed to a preset degree; the measurement results of the child node indicate that the child node needs to update the TA.

In one example, the first predetermined condition is receipt of a new TA from a parent node of the IAB node. Specifically, when a new TA from the parent node of the IAB node is received, since the new TA will inevitably affect the downstream node of the IAB node, such as the child node thereof, the determining unit 101 determines that the first predetermined condition is satisfied, and the determining unit 102 instructs the child node to perform uplink transmission, such as triggering the child node to send the aperiodic SRS through DCI. Next, as described above, the determining unit 102 determines whether or not the TA needs to be adjusted by comparing the reception timing of the aperiodic SRS with the subframe timing, and determines a new TA if the TA needs to be adjusted. It should be appreciated that in this example, the IAB node may be mobile or fixed, and the IAB node that is a child node may also be mobile or fixed, neither of which are limiting.

In another example, the first predetermined condition is that no uplink transmission from the child node is received for a period of time of a predetermined length. Specifically, if the uplink transmission from the child node is not received within a predetermined length of time period, that is, the parent node does not make a determination as to whether TA adjustment is necessary within a predetermined time period, it is considered that it is necessary to verify the TA value of the child node at this time to ensure synchronization, so that the determination unit 101 determines that the first predetermined condition is satisfied. Accordingly, the judgment unit 102 performs the above-described operations, which are not repeated here. It should be appreciated that in this example, the IAB node may be mobile or fixed, and the IAB node that is a child node may also be mobile or fixed, neither of which are limiting. For example, even if the IAB node and the child node are both fixed and there is a mobile node in the upstream node of the IAB node, the TA may need to be adjusted due to its movement.

In another example, the first predetermined condition is that the motion state of the child node changes to a predetermined degree. Specifically, if the motion state of the child node changes to a predetermined degree, for example, such that the relative positional relationship (relative distance) between the child node and the present IAB node as the parent node changes, the TA of the child node needs to be adjusted to ensure synchronization, so that the determination unit 101 determines that the first predetermined condition is satisfied. Accordingly, the judgment unit 102 performs the above-described operations, which are not repeated here. It should be appreciated that in this example, the present IAB node may be mobile or stationary, with the IAB node being a child node being mobile.

An IAB node (whether mobile or fixed) as a parent node may locate its mobile child node through a positioning technique in the cellular network, such as Enhanced Cell Identity (E-CID), Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA), Uplink Time Difference of Arrival (UTDOA), and a method combined with Angle of Arrival (AOA), etc., and the result of the positioning may be saved in the parent node, for example. For example, the determination unit 101 may perform a trace prediction on the child node using the historical location information through an algorithm such as a recurrent neural network (recurrent neural network), a deep reinforcement learning, or the like, and determine whether the motion state of the child node has changed to a predetermined degree or not according to the trace prediction.

In another example, the first predetermined condition is that the measurement results of the child node indicate that the child node needs to update the TA. For example, the measurement result of the child node may include a measurement result of communication quality of the child node, the communication quality of the child node being lower than the predetermined quality indicates that the child node needs to update the TA, and when the determining unit 101 determines that the first predetermined condition is satisfied. Alternatively or additionally, the determination unit 101 may also determine that the first condition is satisfied when the communication quality of the child node changes by more than a predetermined degree. The communication quality of the sub-node may be represented by Reference Signal Receiving Power (RSRP) of a Reference Signal received by the sub-node from the IAB node. It should be appreciated that in this example, the IAB node may be mobile or fixed, and the IAB node that is a child node may also be mobile or fixed, neither of which are limiting.

Several examples of the first predetermined condition are described above, respectively, but these examples are not limitative, and these examples may be used alone or in combination.

For example, the first predetermined condition may include: uplink transmissions from the child node are not received within a time period of a predetermined length, and the motion state of the child node changes to a predetermined extent. In this case, the determination unit 101 may predict a change in the position of the child node based on the historical position information of the child node as described above, and in the case where no uplink transmission from the child node is received within a period of a predetermined length, determine that the first predetermined condition is satisfied if the predicted change in position reaches a predetermined degree. Next, the determination unit 102 performs a series of operations that trigger the child node to transmit the aperiodic SRS and the like.

Further, for example, the first predetermined condition may also include: no uplink transmission from the child node is received within a time period of a predetermined length, and the measurement result of the child node indicates that the child node needs to update the TA. In this case, in a case where no uplink transmission from the child node is received within a time period of a predetermined length, if the measurement result for the child node indicates that the child node needs to update the TA, the determination unit 101 may determine that the first predetermined condition is satisfied. Next, determination section 102 performs a series of operations that trigger the child node to transmit an aperiodic SRS and the like. It should be noted that the measurement results for the child node described herein refer to measurement results previously received from the child node.

In addition, the predetermined length of the time period mentioned in the above example may be determined based on one or more of the following factors, for example: the precision requirement of TA; adjusting granularity of TA; the hop level at which the link between the IAB node and the child node is located; status information of child nodes. Also, the predetermined length may be fixed or may be configurable.

For example, when the TA accuracy requirement is high, the predetermined length should be set to be small so that the TA adjustment can be performed in time to ensure high accuracy. The adjustment granularity of the TA depends on the subcarrier spacing, for example, and the smaller the subcarrier spacing, the larger the adjustment granularity of the TA, and vice versa. When the adjustment granularity of TA is large, the predetermined length may be set large.

In the presence of multi-hop (multiple-hop), if the hop where the link between the IAB node and the child node is located at a higher level, i.e. upstream, the TA setting thereof affects the downstream nodes, so the predetermined length needs to be set small to maintain good timeliness and accuracy of TA update.

Illustratively, the state information of the child node may include one or more of: adjusting frequency of TA of the child node; the variation trend of TA of child nodes; the motion state of the child node. Specifically, if the TA of the child node is frequently adjusted, the predetermined length may be set small; if the change tendency of the TA of the child node indicates that the TA is to change faster, the predetermined length may be set smaller; if the child node moves more actively, for example, moves faster, the predetermined length may be set smaller.

The above factors are merely examples. In setting the predetermined length of the time period, the above factors may be considered in combination, or only one or a part of the factors may be considered, which is not restrictive.

For ease of understanding, fig. 3 shows one illustrative example of the flow of information between a parent node and a child node when making a TA adjustment. First, it is determined at the parent node whether a first predetermined condition is satisfied, and when it is determined that the first predetermined condition is satisfied, it means that the probability that the parent node evaluates that the TA of the child node is to be adjusted is high. At this time, the parent node transmits DCI to the child node via the PDCCH to instruct the child node to transmit the aperiodic SRS. The parent node, after receiving the aperiodic SRS, compares the reception timing and the subframe timing to determine whether to adjust the TA of the child node. In case it is determined that an adjustment is required, the parent node sends an adjustment command TAC to the child node. And after receiving the TAC, the child node performs timing configuration so that the child node and the parent node keep synchronous.

In summary, the electronic device 100 according to this embodiment can adjust the TA of the sub-node in time under various conditions by actively triggering the sub-node of the IAB node to perform uplink transmission, effectively maintain the TA accuracy of the sub-node, and improve the performance of the TA-based synchronized network.

< second embodiment >

Fig. 4 shows a functional block diagram of an electronic device 200 according to another embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 4, the electronic device 200 includes: a determination unit 201 configured to determine whether a second predetermined condition is satisfied; and a transmitting unit 202 configured to transmit a TA adjustment request to a parent node of the IAB node in a case where it is determined that the second predetermined condition is satisfied.

Therein, the determining unit 201 and the sending unit 202 may be implemented by one or more processing circuits, which may be implemented as chips, for example. Also, it should be understood that the functional units in the apparatus shown in fig. 4 are only logical modules divided according to the specific functions implemented by the functional units, and are not used to limit the specific implementation manner.

The electronic apparatus 200 may be provided on an IAB node as a child node, for example. For example, the electronic apparatus 200 may be provided on the base station side or communicably connected to the base station. Here, it is also noted that the electronic device 200 may be implemented at the chip level, or may also be implemented at the device level. For example, the electronic device 200 may operate as an IAB base station itself, and may also include external devices such as memory, transceivers (not shown), and the like. The memory may be used to store programs and related data information that the base station needs to perform to implement various functions. The transceiver may include one or more communication interfaces to support communication with different devices (e.g., user equipment, other IAB base stations, core network devices, etc.), and the implementation of the transceiver is not limited in particular herein.

In this embodiment, an upward notification mechanism for TA management from the perspective of the child node is proposed. That is, the child node makes a determination as to whether it is necessary to authenticate the current TA and performs a corresponding notification mechanism. Specifically, the determination unit 201 makes a determination according to a second predetermined condition, and when the second predetermined condition is satisfied, it is described that it is necessary to verify the current TA. At this time, the transmission unit 202 transmits a TA adjustment request to the parent node. The TA adjustment request indicates uplink transmission from the IAB node to the parent node, and thus the contents thereof may be diversified and are not limited. For example, the TA adjustment request may be an aperiodic SRS.

Here, the second predetermined condition is a condition used by the child node to evaluate the occurrence of a situation in which it is likely that the TA of the child node needs to be adjusted. For example, the second predetermined condition may include one or more of: the IAB node does not execute uplink transmission to a parent node within a time period of a preset length; the motion state of the IAB node is changed to a preset degree; the measurement results of the IAB node indicate that the IAB node needs to update the TA.

In one example, the second predetermined condition is that the IAB node has not performed an uplink transmission to the parent node for a period of time of a predetermined length. Since the parent node determines whether the TA of the local IAB node needs to be adjusted based on the reception of the uplink transmission of the local IAB node, if the local IAB node does not perform the uplink transmission for a long time, it indicates that it is necessary to perform the uplink transmission so that the parent node performs the verification or update of the TA. In this example, the parent node may be mobile or fixed, and the IAB node as the child node may also be mobile or fixed, neither of which is limiting.

The predetermined length of the time period may be obtained from a parent node. Similarly as in the first embodiment, the parent node may determine the predetermined length of the time period based on one or more of the following factors: the precision requirement of TA; adjusting granularity of TA; the grade of a hop where a link between a parent node and the IAB node serving as a child node is located; status information of child nodes. The specific determination manner has been given in the first embodiment, and is not repeated here. In this case, the value of the predetermined length is configurable, but of course may be fixed.

In addition, the predetermined length of the time period may also be fixed and known by each IAB node.

Further, the predetermined length of the time period may be determined by the IAB node, for example, the determining unit 201 may determine based on one or more of the following factors: the hop level of the link between the father node and the IAB node; state information of the IAB node.

For example, in the case of multiple hops, if the hop where the link between the IAB node and the parent node is located at a higher layer, i.e. located upstream, the TA setting thereof affects the downstream nodes, so the predetermined length needs to be set small to maintain good timeliness and accuracy of TA update.

The state information of the IAB node includes, for example, one or more of the following: the motion state of the IAB node; adjusting frequency of TA of an IAB node; trend of TA of IAB node. For example, if the TA of the IAB node is frequently adjusted, the predetermined length may be set small; the predetermined length may be set smaller if the trend of change of the TA of the IAB node indicates that the TA is to change faster; the predetermined length may be set smaller if the IAB node is moving more actively, e.g., moving faster.

It should be understood that the above factors are merely examples. Further, when the predetermined length of the time period is set, the above factors may be considered in combination, or only one or a part of the factors may be considered, which is not restrictive.

In another example, the second predetermined condition is that the motion state of the IAB node changes to a predetermined degree. Specifically, if the motion state of the present IAB node changes to a predetermined degree, for example, such that the relative positional relationship (relative distance) between the present IAB node and the parent node changes, the TA of the present IAB node needs to be adjusted to ensure synchronization, so that the determination unit 201 determines that the second predetermined condition is satisfied. Accordingly, the transmission unit 202 performs uplink transmission. In this example, the IAB node is mobile and the parent node may be mobile or fixed. Illustratively, the determining unit 201 may determine whether the movement state is changed to a predetermined degree by detecting the movement speed and/or the movement direction of the IAB node, for example.

In another example, the second predetermined condition is that the measurement result of the IAB node indicates that the IAB node needs to update the TA. For example, the measurement result of the IAB node may include a measurement result of communication quality of the IAB node, where the communication quality of the IAB node is lower than a predetermined quality or changes by more than a predetermined degree indicating that the IAB node needs to update the TA, and when the determining unit 201 determines that the second predetermined condition is satisfied. Wherein the communication quality of the IAB node may be represented by RSRP of a reference signal received by the IAB node from the parent node. It should be appreciated that in this example, the IAB node may be mobile or fixed, and the IAB node that is a child node may also be mobile or fixed, neither of which are limiting.

Several examples of the second predetermined condition are described above respectively, but these examples are not limitative, and these examples may be used alone or in combination.

For example, the second predetermined condition includes: the IAB node does not perform uplink transmission to the parent node for a predetermined length of time period, and the motion state of the IAB node is changed to a predetermined degree. Wherein the determining unit 201 is configured to determine that the second predetermined condition is satisfied if a change in the relative position between the IAB node and the parent node exceeds a predetermined degree in a case where the IAB node does not perform uplink transmission to the parent node within a period of a predetermined length.

For example, the determination unit 201 may determine the change of the motion state based on the motion speed of the IAB node. Alternatively, the determination unit 201 may determine the change of the motion state based on a map including the IAB node and the parent node. In the case where the own IAB node is a mobile node and the parent node is a fixed IAB node or a home IAB node, the own IAB node can store a map marked with the fixed IAB node and the home IAB node, so that the distance between the own IAB node and its parent node can be easily calculated. The map may be stored in the IAB node in advance, or may be downloaded from the network side to the IAB node when a handover (handover) occurs, for example. The size of the map may be determined, for example, based on the storage capacity and processing capacity of the IAB node.

Further, the second predetermined condition may also include: the IAB node does not perform uplink transmission to the parent node within a predetermined length of time, and the measurement result of the IAB node indicates that the IAB node needs to update the TA. Wherein, the determining unit 201 is configured to determine that the second predetermined condition is satisfied if the measurement result of the IAB node indicates that the IAB node needs to update the TA, in a case where the IAB node does not perform uplink transmission to the parent node within a period of a predetermined length.

When the determining unit 201 determines that the second predetermined condition is satisfied, the transmitting unit 202 transmits a TA adjustment request to the parent node. The parent node determines whether to adjust the TA based on the TA adjustment request, and transmits a TA adjustment command, such as TAC, to the present IAB node if the TA is to be adjusted.

For ease of understanding, fig. 5 shows another illustrative example of information flow between a parent node and a child node when making a TA adjustment. First, it is determined at the child node whether a second predetermined condition is satisfied, and when it is determined that the second predetermined condition is satisfied, it is indicated that the child node has a high probability of considering its TA to be adjusted. At this time, the child node transmits a TA adjustment request to the parent node, and the TA adjustment request may have various forms, such as the aperiodic SRS described in the first embodiment. The parent node, after receiving the TA adjustment request, compares the received timing with the subframe timing to determine whether to adjust the TA of the child node. In case it is determined that an adjustment is required, the parent node sends an adjustment command TAC to the child node. And after receiving the TAC, the child node performs timing configuration so that the child node and the parent node keep synchronous.

In summary, the electronic device 200 according to this embodiment can adjust the TA of the child node in time under various conditions by actively requesting the parent node to perform TA adjustment, so as to effectively maintain the TA accuracy of the child node and improve the performance of the TA-based synchronized network.

< third embodiment >

In the above description of the electronic device for wireless communication in the embodiments, it is apparent that some processes or methods are also disclosed. In the following, a summary of the methods is given without repeating some details that have been discussed above, but it should be noted that although the methods are disclosed in the description of electronic devices for wireless communication, the methods do not necessarily employ or be performed by those components described. For example, embodiments of an electronic device for wireless communication may be partially or completely implemented using hardware and/or firmware, while the methods for wireless communication discussed below may be completely implemented by computer-executable programs, although the methods may also employ hardware and/or firmware of an electronic device for wireless communication.

Fig. 6 shows a flow diagram of a method for wireless communication according to an embodiment of the application, the method comprising: determining whether a first predetermined condition is satisfied (S11); and in a case where it is determined that the first predetermined condition is satisfied, determining whether to adjust the TA of the child node of the IAB node, the determining including instructing the child node to perform uplink transmission and determining whether to adjust the TA based on a timing at which the uplink transmission is received (S12). The method may be performed, for example, on the parent node side.

In step S12, the child node may be instructed by DCI to transmit the aperiodic SRS. Further, as shown by the dashed box of fig. 6, the method may further include step S13: and in the case of judging that the TA is to be adjusted, sending a TA adjustment command to the child node. For example, the TA adjustment command may be sent to the child node by the MAC CE.

Illustratively, the first predetermined condition may include one or more of: receiving a new TA from a parent node of the IAB node; receiving no uplink transmission from the child node within a time period of a predetermined length; the motion state of the child node is changed to a preset degree; the measurement results of the child node indicate that the child node needs to update the TA.

Wherein the measurement result of the child node may include a measurement result of communication quality of the child node, and the communication quality of the child node being lower than the predetermined quality indicates that the child node needs to update the TA. The communication quality of the child node may be represented, for example, by RSRP of a reference signal received by the child node from the IAB node. The predetermined length of the time period may be determined based on one or more of the following factors: the precision requirement of TA; adjusting granularity of TA; the hop level where the link between the IAB node and the child node is located; status information of child nodes. The state information of the child node includes, for example, one or more of the following: adjusting frequency of TA of the child node; the variation trend of TA of child nodes; the motion state of the child node.

For example, if the first predetermined condition includes: in the case where the uplink transmission from the child node is not received for a predetermined length of time and the motion state of the child node is changed by a predetermined degree, the change in the position of the child node is predicted based on the historical position information of the child node in step S11, and in the case where the uplink transmission from the child node is not received for a predetermined length of time, if the predicted change in the position reaches the predetermined degree, it is determined that the first predetermined condition is satisfied, and the determination is performed in step S12.

Further, if the first predetermined condition includes: if the uplink transmission from the child node is not received within the predetermined length of time period and the measurement result of the child node indicates that the child node needs to update the TA, in step S11, in the case where the uplink transmission from the child node is not received within the predetermined length of time period, if the measurement result for the child node indicates that the child node needs to update the TA, it is determined that the first predetermined condition is satisfied, and the determination is performed in step S12.

Fig. 7 shows a flow diagram of a method for wireless communication according to an embodiment of the application, the method comprising: determining whether a second predetermined condition is satisfied (S21); and transmitting a TA adjustment request to a parent node of the IAB node in a case where it is determined that the second predetermined condition is satisfied (S22). The method may be performed, for example, on the child node side.

For example, the second predetermined condition may include one or more of: the IAB node does not execute uplink transmission to a parent node within a time period of a preset length; the motion state of the IAB node is changed to a preset degree; the measurement results of the IAB node indicate that the IAB node needs to update the TA.

Wherein the predetermined length may be determined based on one or more of the following factors: the level of the hop where the link between the parent node and the IAB node is located; state information of IAB nodes. The state information of the IAB node includes one or more of the following: the motion state of the IAB node; adjusting frequency of TA of an IAB node; trend of TA of IAB node. Further, the predetermined length may also be obtained from a parent node.

For example, the change in the motion state may be determined based on a motion speed of the IAB node, or based on a map including the IAB node and a parent node. The measurement results of the IAB node include, for example, measurement results of communication quality of the IAB node, which is lower than a predetermined quality or changed more than a predetermined degree indicating that the IAB node needs to update the TA. The communication quality of the IAB node may be represented by RSRP of a reference signal received by the IAB node from a parent node.

For example, if the second predetermined condition includes: the IAB node does not perform uplink transmission to the parent node for a predetermined length of time and the motion state of the IAB node is changed by a predetermined degree, it is determined in step S21 that the second predetermined condition is satisfied and a TA adjustment request is transmitted in step S22 in case the IAB node does not perform uplink transmission to the parent node for a predetermined length of time and if the change in the relative position between the IAB node and the parent node exceeds the predetermined degree.

For example, if the second predetermined condition includes: if the IAB node does not perform uplink transmission to the parent node for a predetermined length of time and the measurement result of the IAB node indicates that the IAB node needs to update the TA, it is determined in step S21 that the second predetermined condition is satisfied and a TA adjustment request is transmitted in step S22 in the case where the IAB node does not perform uplink transmission to the parent node for a predetermined length of time.

The above methods correspond to the apparatus 100 described in the first embodiment and the apparatus 200 described in the second embodiment, respectively, and specific details thereof can be referred to the above description of corresponding positions and will not be repeated here. Note that the above-described respective methods may be used in combination or individually.

The techniques of this disclosure can be applied to a variety of products.

For example,

electronic devices

100 and 200 may be implemented as various base stations. The base station may be implemented as any type of evolved node b (enb) or gNB (5G base station). The enbs include, for example, macro enbs and small enbs. The small eNB may be an eNB that covers a cell smaller than a macro cell, such as a pico eNB, a micro eNB, and a home (femto) eNB. Similar scenarios are also possible for the gNB. Alternatively, the base station may be implemented as any other type of base station, such as a NodeB and a Base Transceiver Station (BTS). The base station may include: a main body (also referred to as a base station apparatus) configured to control wireless communication; and one or more Remote Radio Heads (RRHs) disposed at a different place from the main body.

In addition, various types of user equipment can operate as a base station by temporarily or semi-persistently performing the function of the base station. The user equipment may be implemented as a mobile terminal such as a smart phone, a tablet Personal Computer (PC), a notebook PC, a portable game terminal, a portable/cryptographic dog-type mobile router, and a digital camera, or an in-vehicle terminal such as a car navigation apparatus. The user equipment may also be implemented as a terminal (also referred to as a Machine Type Communication (MTC) terminal) that performs machine-to-machine (M2M) communication. Further, the user equipment may be a wireless communication module (such as an integrated circuit module including a single chip) mounted on each of the above-described terminals. In this case, the functions of the

electronic devices

100 and 200 are implemented by, for example, processing circuitry of the user equipment.

[ application example with respect to base station ]

(first application example)

Fig. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a first example of a schematic configuration of an eNB or a gNB to which the techniques of this disclosure may be applied. Note that the following description takes an eNB as an example, but may be applied to a gNB as well. eNB 800 includes one or more antennas 810 and base station equipment 820. The base station device 820 and each antenna 810 may be connected to each other via an RF cable.

Each of the antennas 810 includes a single or multiple antenna elements, such as multiple antenna elements included in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna, and is used for the base station apparatus 820 to transmit and receive wireless signals. As shown in fig. 8, eNB 800 may include multiple antennas 810. For example, the multiple antennas 810 may be compatible with multiple frequency bands used by the eNB 800. Although fig. 8 shows an example in which the eNB 800 includes multiple antennas 810, the eNB 800 may also include a single antenna 810.

The base station device 820 includes a controller 821, a memory 822, a network interface 823, and a wireless communication interface 825.

The controller 821 may be, for example, a CPU or a DSP, and operates various functions of higher layers of the base station apparatus 820. For example, the controller 821 generates a data packet from data in a signal processed by the wireless communication interface 825 and transfers the generated packet via the network interface 823. The controller 821 may bundle data from a plurality of baseband processors to generate a bundle packet, and deliver the generated bundle packet. The controller 821 may have a logic function of performing control as follows: such as radio resource control, radio bearer control, mobility management, admission control and scheduling. The control may be performed in connection with a nearby eNB or core network node. The memory 822 includes a RAM and a ROM, and stores programs executed by the controller 821 and various types of control data (such as a terminal list, transmission power data, and scheduling data).

The network interface 823 is a communication interface for connecting the base station apparatus 820 to a core network 824. The controller 821 may communicate with a core network node or another eNB via a network interface 823. In this case, the eNB 800 and a core network node or other enbs may be connected to each other through a logical interface, such as an S1 interface and an X2 interface. The network interface 823 may also be a wired communication interface or a wireless communication interface for a wireless backhaul. If the network interface 823 is a wireless communication interface, the network interface 823 may use a higher frequency band for wireless communication than the frequency band used by the wireless communication interface 825.

The wireless communication interface 825 supports any cellular communication scheme, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE-advanced, and provides wireless connectivity to terminals located in the cell of the eNB 800 via the antenna 810. The wireless communication interface 825 may generally include, for example, a baseband (BB) processor 826 and RF circuitry 827. The BB processor 826 may perform, for example, encoding/decoding, modulation/demodulation, and multiplexing/demultiplexing, and perform various types of signal processing of layers such as L1, Medium Access Control (MAC), Radio Link Control (RLC), and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP). In place of the controller 821, the BB processor 826 may have part or all of the above-described logic functions. The BB processor 826 may be a memory storing a communication control program, or a module including a processor configured to execute a program and related circuitry. The update program may cause the function of the BB processor 826 to change. The module may be a card or blade that is inserted into a slot of the base station device 820. Alternatively, the module may be a chip mounted on a card or blade. Meanwhile, the RF circuit 827 may include, for example, a mixer, a filter, and an amplifier, and transmits and receives a wireless signal via the antenna 810.

As shown in fig. 8, wireless communication interface 825 may include a plurality of BB processors 826. For example, the plurality of BB processors 826 may be compatible with multiple frequency bands used by eNB 800. As shown in fig. 8, wireless communication interface 825 may include a plurality of RF circuits 827. For example, the plurality of RF circuits 827 may be compatible with a plurality of antenna elements. Although fig. 8 shows an example in which the wireless communication interface 825 includes a plurality of BB processors 826 and a plurality of RF circuits 827, the wireless communication interface 825 may include a single BB processor 826 or a single RF circuit 827.

In the eNB 800 shown in fig. 8, the transceivers of the

electronic devices

100 and 200 may be implemented by the wireless communication interface 825. At least a portion of the functionality may also be implemented by the controller 821. For example, the controller 821 may actively trigger the child node to perform uplink transmission under appropriate circumstances by performing the functions of the determination unit 101 and the judgment unit 102, and update the TA of the child node in time; or may request the parent node to update the TA of the child node in time as appropriate by performing the functions of the determining unit 201 and the transmitting unit 202 to maintain the TA accuracy of the child node.

(second application example)

Fig. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a second example of a schematic configuration of an eNB or a gNB to which the techniques of this disclosure may be applied. Note that similarly, the following description takes the eNB as an example, but may be equally applied to the gbb. eNB 830 includes one or more antennas 840, base station equipment 850, and RRHs 860. The RRH 860 and each antenna 840 may be connected to each other via an RF cable. The base station apparatus 850 and RRH 860 may be connected to each other via a high-speed line such as a fiber optic cable.

Each of the antennas 840 includes a single or multiple antenna elements (such as multiple antenna elements included in a MIMO antenna) and is used for the RRH 860 to transmit and receive wireless signals. As shown in fig. 9, the eNB 830 may include multiple antennas 840. For example, the multiple antennas 840 may be compatible with multiple frequency bands used by the eNB 830. Although fig. 9 illustrates an example in which the eNB 830 includes multiple antennas 840, the eNB 830 may also include a single antenna 840.

Base station apparatus 850 comprises a controller 851, memory 852, network interface 853, wireless communication interface 855, and connection interface 857. The controller 851, the memory 852, and the network interface 853 are the same as the controller 821, the memory 822, and the network interface 823 described with reference to fig. 8.

The wireless communication interface 855 supports any cellular communication scheme (such as LTE and LTE-advanced) and provides wireless communication via the RRH 860 and the antenna 840 to terminals located in a sector corresponding to the RRH 860. The wireless communication interface 855 may generally include, for example, the BB processor 856. The BB processor 856 is identical to the BB processor 826 described with reference to fig. 8, except that the BB processor 856 is connected to the RF circuit 864 of the RRH 860 via a connection interface 857. As shown in fig. 9, wireless communication interface 855 may comprise a plurality of BB processors 856. For example, the plurality of BB processors 856 may be compatible with the plurality of frequency bands used by the eNB 830. Although fig. 9 shows an example in which wireless communication interface 855 includes multiple BB processors 856, wireless communication interface 855 may include a single BB processor 856.

Connection interface 857 is an interface for connecting base station apparatus 850 (wireless communication interface 855) to RRH 860. Connection interface 857 may also be a communication module for communication in the above-described high-speed line that connects base station apparatus 850 (wireless communication interface 855) to RRH 860.

RRH 860 includes connection interface 861 and wireless communication interface 863.

The connection interface 861 is an interface for connecting the RRH 860 (wireless communication interface 863) to the base station apparatus 850. The connection interface 861 may also be a communication module for communication in the above-described high-speed line.

Wireless communication interface 863 transmits and receives wireless signals via antenna 840. The wireless communication interface 863 can generally include, for example, RF circuitry 864. The RF circuit 864 may include, for example, mixers, filters, and amplifiers, and transmits and receives wireless signals via the antenna 840. As shown in fig. 9, wireless communication interface 863 may include a plurality of RF circuits 864. For example, the plurality of RF circuits 864 may support a plurality of antenna elements. Although fig. 9 illustrates an example in which the wireless communication interface 863 includes multiple RF circuits 864, the wireless communication interface 863 may include a single RF circuit 864.

In eNB 830 shown in fig. 9, the transceivers of

electronic devices

100 and 200 may be implemented by wireless communication interface 855 and/or wireless communication interface 863. At least a portion of the functions may also be implemented by the controller 851. For example, the controller 851 may actively trigger the child node to perform uplink transmission under appropriate circumstances by performing the functions of the determining unit 101 and the determining unit 102, and update the TA of the child node in time; or may request the parent node to update the TA of the child node in time, as appropriate, by performing the functions of the determining unit 201 and the transmitting unit 202 to maintain the TA accuracy of the child node.

While the basic principles of the invention have been described in connection with specific embodiments thereof, it should be noted that it will be understood by those skilled in the art that all or any of the steps or elements of the method and apparatus of the invention may be implemented in any computing device (including processors, storage media, etc.) or network of computing devices, in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof, using the basic circuit design knowledge or basic programming skills of those skilled in the art after reading the description of the invention.

Moreover, the invention also provides a program product which stores the machine-readable instruction codes. The instruction codes are read by a machine and can execute the method according to the embodiment of the invention when being executed.

Accordingly, a storage medium carrying the program product having machine-readable instruction code stored thereon as described above is also included in the disclosure of the present invention. Including, but not limited to, floppy disks, optical disks, magneto-optical disks, memory cards, memory sticks, and the like.

In the case where the present invention is implemented by software or firmware, a program constituting the software is installed from a storage medium or a network to a computer (for example, a general-purpose computer 1000 shown in fig. 10) having a dedicated hardware configuration, and the computer can execute various functions and the like when various programs are installed.

In fig. 10, a Central Processing Unit (CPU)1001 executes various processes in accordance with a program stored in a Read Only Memory (ROM)1002 or a program loaded from a storage section 1008 to a Random Access Memory (RAM) 1003. The RAM 1003 also stores data necessary when the CPU 1001 executes various processes and the like, as necessary. The CPU 1001, ROM 1002, and RAM 1003 are connected to each other via a bus 1004. An input/output interface 1005 is also connected to the bus 1004.

The following components are connected to the input/output interface 1005: an input section 1006 (including a keyboard, a mouse, and the like), an output section 1007 (including a display such as a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT), a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), and the like, and a speaker and the like), a storage section 1008 (including a hard disk and the like), a communication section 1009 (including a network interface card such as a LAN card, a modem, and the like). The communication section 1009 performs communication processing via a network such as the internet. The driver 1010 may also be connected to the input/output interface 1005 as necessary. A removable medium 1011 such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a semiconductor memory, or the like is mounted on the drive 1010 as needed, so that a computer program read out therefrom is installed into the storage portion 1008 as needed.

In the case where the above-described series of processes is realized by software, a program constituting the software is installed from a network such as the internet or a storage medium such as the removable medium 1011.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that such a storage medium is not limited to the removable medium 1011 shown in fig. 10, in which the program is stored, distributed separately from the apparatus to provide the program to the user. Examples of the removable medium 1011 include a magnetic disk (including a floppy disk (registered trademark)), an optical disk (including a compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM) and a Digital Versatile Disk (DVD)), a magneto-optical disk (including a Mini Disk (MD) (registered trademark)), and a semiconductor memory. Alternatively, the storage medium may be the ROM 1002, a hard disk included in the storage section 1008, or the like, in which programs are stored and which are distributed to users together with the device including them.

It should also be noted that the components or steps may be broken down and/or re-combined in the apparatus, methods and systems of the present invention. These decompositions and/or recombinations should be regarded as equivalents of the present invention. Also, the steps of executing the series of processes described above may naturally be executed chronologically in the order described, but need not necessarily be executed chronologically. Some steps may be performed in parallel or independently of each other.

Finally, it should also be noted that the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Furthermore, without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising an … …" does not exclude the presence of other like elements in a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the above-described embodiments are only for illustrating the present invention and do not constitute a limitation to the present invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the above-described embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is to be defined only by the claims appended hereto, and by their equivalents.

Claims

An electronic device for wireless communication, comprising:

a processing circuit configured to:

determining whether a first predetermined condition is satisfied; and

determining whether to adjust a timing advance, TA, of a child node of an IAB node if it is determined that the first predetermined condition is satisfied, the determining comprising instructing the child node to perform an uplink transmission and determining whether to adjust the TA based on a timing of receiving the uplink transmission.
The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to transmit a TA adjustment command to the child node if it is determined that the TA is to be adjusted.
The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the first predetermined condition comprises one or more of: receiving a new TA from a parent node of the IAB node; receiving no uplink transmission from the child node within a time period of a predetermined length; the motion state of the child node is changed to a preset degree; the measurement result of the child node indicates that the child node needs to update the TA.
The electronic device of claim 3, wherein the first predetermined condition comprises: uplink transmission from the child node is not received within the time period of the predetermined length, and the motion state of the child node changes to a predetermined degree,

wherein the processing circuitry is configured to predict a change in location of the child node based on historical location information of the child node, and in the event that no uplink transmission from the child node is received within the predetermined length of time period, determine that the first predetermined condition is satisfied and perform the determination if the predicted change in location is to the predetermined extent.
The electronic device of claim 3, wherein the measurements of the child node include measurements of communication quality of the child node, a communication quality of the child node being below a predetermined quality indicating that the child node needs to update the TA.
The electronic device of claim 5, wherein the communication quality of the child node is represented by a reference signal received power by the child node from the IAB node.
The electronic device of claim 3, wherein the first predetermined condition comprises: receiving no uplink transmission from the child node within the predetermined length of time period, and the measurement result of the child node indicating that the child node needs to update the TA,

wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine that the first predetermined condition is met and to perform the determination if the measurement results for the child node indicate that the child node needs to update TA, if no uplink transmission from the child node is received within the time period of the predetermined length.
The electronic device of claim 1, wherein instructing the child node to perform uplink transmission comprises instructing the child node to transmit an aperiodic sounding reference signal through downlink control information.
The electronic device of claim 2, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to transmit the TA adjustment command to the child node through a MAC CE.
The electronic device of claim 3, wherein the predetermined length of the time period is determined based on one or more of the following factors: the accuracy requirement of the TA; the adjusted granularity of the TA; the hop level at which the link between the IAB node and the child node is located; status information of the child node.
The electronic device of claim 10, wherein the state information of the child node comprises one or more of: adjusting frequency of TA of the child node; a trend of change in TA of the child node; a motion state of the child node.
An electronic device for wireless communication, comprising:

a processing circuit configured to:

determining whether a second predetermined condition is satisfied; and

in an instance in which it is determined that the second predetermined condition is satisfied, a TA adjustment request is sent to a parent node of the IAB node.
The electronic device of claim 12, wherein the second predetermined condition comprises one or more of: the IAB node does not perform uplink transmission to the parent node within a time period of a predetermined length; the motion state of the IAB node is changed to a preset degree; the measurement result of the IAB node indicates that the IAB node needs to update the TA.
The electronic device of claim 13, wherein the predetermined length is determined based on one or more of the following factors: a hop level at which a link between the parent node and the IAB node is located; status information of the IAB node.
The electronic device of claim 14, wherein the state information of the IAB node comprises one or more of: a motion state of the IAB node; an adjustment frequency of a TA of the IAB node; a trend of TA of the IAB node.
The electronic device of claim 13, wherein the predetermined length is obtained from the parent node.
The electronic device of claim 13, wherein the second predetermined condition comprises: the IAB node does not perform uplink transmission to the parent node for a predetermined length of time, and the movement state of the IAB node is changed to a predetermined degree,

wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine that the second predetermined condition is satisfied and to send the TA adjustment request if the relative position between the IAB node and the parent node changes by more than a predetermined degree if the IAB node does not perform an uplink transmission to the parent node for a predetermined length of time period.
The electronic device of claim 13, wherein the processing circuit is configured to determine the change in motion state based on a speed of motion of the IAB node or based on a map that includes the IAB node and the parent node.
The electronic device of claim 13, wherein the second predetermined condition comprises: the IAB node does not perform uplink transmission to the parent node for a predetermined length of time period, and the measurement result of the IAB node indicates that the IAB node needs to update TA,

wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine that the second predetermined condition is met and send the TA adjustment request if the measurement result of the IAB node indicates that the IAB node needs to update TA, if the IAB node does not perform uplink transmission to the parent node for a predetermined length of time period.
The electronic device of claim 13, wherein the IAB node measurements comprise measurements of communication quality of the IAB node, the IAB node communication quality being below a predetermined quality or changing more than a predetermined degree indicating that the IAB node needs to update a TA.
The electronic device of claim 20, wherein the communication quality of the IAB node is represented by a reference signal received power by the IAB node from the parent node.
A method for wireless communication, comprising:

determining whether a first predetermined condition is satisfied; and

in an instance in which it is determined that the first predetermined condition is satisfied, determining whether to adjust a timing advance, TA, of a child node of an IAB node, the determining comprising instructing the child node to perform an uplink transmission and determining whether to adjust the TA based on a timing of receiving the uplink transmission.
A method for wireless communication, comprising:

determining whether a second predetermined condition is satisfied; and

in an instance in which it is determined that the second predetermined condition is satisfied, a TA adjustment request is sent to a parent node of the IAB node.
A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed, perform the method for wireless communication of claim 22 or 23.