CN117812680A - Techniques for UE power saving and UE complexity reduction - Google Patents

Abstract

Techniques for UE power saving and UE complexity reduction. In one aspect of the invention, a method, computer-readable medium, and apparatus are provided. The apparatus may be a UE. The UE receives a first signal from the base station in a first time slot, the first signal being a downlink data signal in a first frequency resource allocation. The UE communicates a second signal with the base station in a second time slot. The configured time gap between the first time slot and the second time slot is based on a comparison of the first frequency resource allocation and the second frequency resource allocation.

Description

Techniques for UE power saving and UE complexity reduction

Cross Reference to Related Applications

The present application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application No.63/412,363, entitled "METHOD FOR UE POWER SAVING AND/OR UE COMPLEXITY REDUCTION", filed on 9, 30, 2022, U.S. provisional application No.63/382,554, entitled "METHODS FOR SCHEDULING PAGING MESSAGE TO UE WITH REDUCED PROCESSING CAPABILITY", filed on 7, 11, 2022, U.S. provisional application No.63/423,459, entitled "METHODS FOR SCHEDULING UE WITH REDUCED PROCESSING CAPABILITY", filed on 7, 2022, and U.S. patent application No.18/369,907, filed on 19, 9, 2023, all of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to communication systems, and more particularly to techniques for scheduling User Equipment (UE) to receive a physical downlink shared channel (physical downlink shared channel, PDSCH) according to reduced capabilities.

Background

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcast. A typical wireless communication system may employ multiple-access techniques capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources. Examples of such multiple access techniques include code division multiple access (code division multiple access, CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (time division multiple access, TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (frequency division multiple access, FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (orthogonal frequency division multiple access, OFDMA) systems, single-carrier frequency division multiple access (single-carrier frequency division multiple access, SC-FDMA) systems, and time division synchronous code division multiple access (time division synchronous code division multiple access, TD-SCDMA) systems.

These multiple access techniques have been employed in various telecommunications standards to provide a common protocol that enables different wireless devices to communicate at the urban, national, regional, and even global levels. An example telecommunications standard is the 5G New Radio (NR). The 5G NR is part of a continuous mobile broadband evolution promulgated by the third generation partnership project (Third Generation Partnership Project,3 GPP) to meet new requirements associated with latency, reliability, security, scalability (e.g., with the internet of things (Internet of Things, ioT)) and other requirements. Some aspects of 5G NR may be based on the 4G long term evolution (Long Term Evolution, LTE) standard. Further improvements in the 5G NR technology are needed. These improvements are also applicable to other multiple access techniques and telecommunication standards employing these techniques.

Disclosure of Invention

The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects in order to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects, and is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of all aspects nor delineate the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

In one aspect of the invention, a method, computer-readable medium, and apparatus are provided. The apparatus may be a UE. The UE receives a first signal from the base station in a first time slot, the first signal being a downlink data signal in a first frequency resource allocation. The UE communicates a second signal with the base station in a second time slot. The configured time gap between the first time slot and the second time slot is based on a comparison of the first frequency resource allocation and the second frequency resource allocation.

In one aspect of the invention, a method, computer-readable medium, and apparatus are provided. The apparatus may be a base station. The base station transmits a first signal in a first time slot, the first signal being a downlink data signal in a first frequency resource allocation. The base station communicates a second signal with the UE in a second time slot. The configured time gap between the first time slot and the second time slot is based on a comparison of the first frequency resource allocation and the second frequency resource allocation.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, one or more aspects comprise the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and the annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative features of the one or more aspects. These features are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of various aspects may be employed and the description is intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication system and an access network.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a base station communicating with a UE in an access network.

Fig. 3 illustrates an example logical architecture of a distributed access network.

Fig. 4 illustrates an example physical architecture of a distributed access network.

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a DL-centric time slot.

Fig. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of UL-centric time slots.

Fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating a first scheduling scheme of a base station for reduced capability UEs.

Fig. 8 is a diagram illustrating a second scheduling scheme of a base station for reduced capability UEs.

Fig. 9 is another schematic diagram illustrating a second scheduling scheme of a base station for reduced capability UEs.

Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a random access procedure of a reduced capability UE.

Fig. 11 is a flow chart of a method (process) for receiving data from a base station.

Fig. 12 is a flow chart of a method (process) for transmitting data to a UE.

Detailed Description

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to represent the only configurations in which the concepts described herein may be practiced. The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of the various concepts. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the concepts may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring such concepts.

Aspects of a telecommunications system will now be presented with reference to various apparatus and methods. These apparatus and methods will be described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the figures by various blocks, components, circuits, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as "elements"). These elements may be implemented using electronic hardware, computer software, or any combination thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system.

As an example, an element or any portion of an element or any combination of elements may be implemented as a "processing system" comprising one or more processors. Examples of processors include microprocessors, microcontrollers, graphics processing units (graphics processing unit, GPU), central processing units (central processing unit, CPU), application processors, digital signal processors (digital signal processor, DSP), reduced instruction set computing (reduced instruction set computing, RISC) processors, system-on-chip (systems on a chip, soC), baseband processors, field programmable gate arrays (field programmable gate array, FPGA), programmable logic devices (programmable logic device, PLD), state machines, gating logic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardware configured to perform the various functions described throughout this disclosure. One or more processors in the processing system may execute the software. Software should be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code segments, program code, programs, subroutines, software components, applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, and the like, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or other language.

Thus, in one or more example aspects, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or encoded as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer readable media includes computer storage media. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (electrically erasable programmable ROM), optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, other magnetic storage devices, combinations of the above-described types of computer-readable media, or any other media that can be used to store computer-executable code in the form of instructions or data structures that can be accessed by a computer.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication system and an access network 100. A wireless communication system, also referred to as a wireless wide area network (wireless wide area network, WWAN), includes a base station 102, a UE 104, an evolved packet core (Evolved Packet Core, EPC) 160, and another core network 190 (e.g., a 5G core (5 gcore,5 gc)). Base station 102 may include a macrocell (high power cellular base station) and/or a small cell (low power cellular base station). The macrocell includes a base station. Small cells include femto cells, pico cells, and micro cells.

A base station 102 configured for 4G LTE, collectively referred to as an evolved universal mobile telecommunications system (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System, UMTS) terrestrial radio access network (Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System Terrestrial Radio Access Network, E-UTRAN), may interface with EPC 160 over a backhaul link 132 (e.g., SI interface). A base station 102 configured for 5G NR (collectively referred to as Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN)) may interface with a core network 190 through a backhaul link 184. Among other functions, the base station 102 may perform one or more of the following functions: user data transfer, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection establishment and release, load balancing, non-access stratum (NAS) message allocation, NAS node selection, synchronization, radio access network (radio access network, RAN) sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast services (multimedia broadcast multicast service, MBMS), subscriber and device tracking, RAN information management (RAN information management, RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of alert messages. Base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., through EPC 160 or core network 190) over backhaul link 134 (e.g., an X2 interface). The backhaul link 134 may be wired or wireless.

The base station 102 may communicate wirelessly with the UE 104. Each base station 102 may provide communication coverage for a respective geographic coverage area 110. There may be overlapping geographic coverage areas 110. For example, the small cell 102 'may have a coverage area 110' that overlaps with the coverage area 110 of one or more macro base stations 102. A network comprising both small cells and macro cells may be referred to as a heterogeneous network. The heterogeneous network may also include a home Evolved Node B (eNB) (Home Evolved Node B, heNB) that may provide services to a restricted group called a closed subscriber group (closed subscriber group, CSG). The communication link 120 between the base station 102 and the UE 104 may include Uplink (UL) (also known as reverse link) transmissions from the UE 104 to the base station 102 and/or Downlink (DL) (also known as forward link) transmissions from the base station 102 to the UE 104. Communication link 120 may use multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna techniques including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and/or transmit diversity. The communication link may be through one or more carriers. The base station 102/UE 104 may use a spectrum up to 7MHz (e.g., 5, 10, 15, 20, 100, 400, etc.) bandwidth per carrier in each direction, the component carriers being allocated in carrier aggregation up to a total yxmhz (x component carriers) for transmission. The carriers may or may not be adjacent to each other. The allocation of carriers may be asymmetric with respect to DL and UL (e.g., DL may be allocated more or less carriers than UL). The component carriers may include a primary component carrier and one or more secondary component carriers. The primary component carrier may be referred to as a primary cell (PCell), and the secondary component carrier may be referred to as a secondary cell (SCell).

Some UEs 104 may communicate with each other using a device-to-device (D2D) communication link 158. The D2D communication link 158 may use the DL/UL WWAN spectrum. The D2D communication link 158 may use one or more sidelink channels, such as a physical sidelink broadcast channel (physical sidelink broadcast channel, PSBCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (physical sidelink discovery channel, PSDCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (physical sidelink shared channel, PSSCH), and a physical sidelink control channel (physical sidelink control channel, PSCCH). D2D communication may be through various wireless D2D communication systems such as, for example, flashLinQ, wiMedia, bluetooth, zigBee, wi-Fi based on the IEEE 802.11 standard, LTE, or NR.

The wireless communication system may also include a Wi-Fi Access Point (AP) 150 that communicates with a Wi-Fi Station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154 in the 5GHz unlicensed spectrum. When communicating in the unlicensed spectrum, STA 152/AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (clear channel assessment, CCA) prior to communication to determine whether a channel is available.

The small cell 102' may operate in licensed and/or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in unlicensed spectrum, the small cell 102' may employ NR and use the same 5GHz unlicensed spectrum as used by Wi-Fi AP 150. The use of NR small cells 102' in the unlicensed spectrum may improve coverage of the access network and/or increase capacity of the access network.

Base station 102, whether a small cell 102' or a large cell (e.g., macro base station), may comprise an eNB, a gndeb (gNB), or another type of base station. Some base stations, such as the gNB 180, may operate in the legacy sub-6 GHz spectrum, millimeter wave (mmW) frequencies, and/or near mmW frequencies in communication with the UE 104. When the gNB 180 operates in mmW or near mmW frequencies, the gNB 180 may be referred to as a mmW base station. The extremely high frequency (extremely high frequency, EHF) is part of the RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a wavelength in the range of 30GHz to 300GHz and between 1 mm and 10 mm. The radio waves in the frequency band may be referred to as millimeter waves. The near mmW may extend down to a frequency of 3GHz and a wavelength of 100 millimeters. The ultra-high frequency (super high frequency, SHF) band extends between 3GHz and 30GHz, also known as centimetre waves. Communications using mmW/near mmW radio bands (e.g., 3GHz-300 GHz) have extremely high path loss and short distances. The mmW base station 180 may utilize beamforming 182 with the UE 104 to compensate for extremely high path loss and short distances.

The base station 180 may transmit the beamformed signals to the UE 104 in one or more transmit directions 108 a. The UE 104 may receive the beamformed signals from the base station 180 in one or more receive directions 108 b. The UE 104 may also transmit the beamformed signals in one or more transmit directions to the base station 180. The base station 180 may receive the beamformed signals from the UEs 104 in one or more directions. The base stations 180/UEs 104 may perform beam training to determine the best receive direction and transmit direction for each base station 180/UE 104. The transmission direction and the reception direction of the base station 180 may be the same or different. The transmission direction and the reception direction of the UE 104 may be the same or different.

EPC 160 may include a mobility management entity (Mobility Management Entity, MME) 162, other MMEs 164, a serving gateway 166, a multimedia broadcast multicast service (Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service, MBMS) gateway 168, a broadcast multicast service center (Broadcast Multicast Service Center, BM-SC) 170, and a packet data network (Packet Data Network, PDN) gateway 172.MME 162 may communicate with home subscriber server (Home Subscriber Server, HSS) 174. The MME 162 is a control node that handles signaling between the UE 104 and the EPC 160. In general, MME 162 provides bearer and connection management. All user Internet Protocol (IP) packets are transmitted through the serving gateway 166, which serving gateway 166 itself is connected to the PDN gateway 172. The PDN gateway 172 provides UE IP address allocation as well as other functions. The PDN gateway 172 and BM-SC 170 are connected to an IP service 176.IP services 176 may include the internet, intranets, IP multimedia subsystem (IP Multimedia Subsystem, IMS), PS streaming services, and/or other IP services. The BM-SC 170 may provide functionality for MBMS user service provisioning and delivery. The BM-SC 170 may be used as an entry point for content provider MBMS transmissions, may be used to authorize and initiate MBMS bearer services within a public land mobile network (public land mobile network, PLMN), and may be used to schedule MBMS transmissions. The MBMS gateway 168 may be used to allocate MBMS traffic to base stations 102 belonging to a multicast broadcast single frequency network (Multicast Broadcast Single Frequency Network, MBSFN) area broadcasting a particular service and may be responsible for session management (start/stop) and for collecting eMBMS related charging information.

The core network 190 may include access and mobility management functions (Access and Mobility Management Function, AMF) 192, other AMFs 193, location management functions (location management function, LMF) 198, session management functions (Session Management Function, SMF) 194, and user plane functions (User Plane Function, UPF) 195. The AMF 192 may communicate with a unified data management (Unified Data Management, UDM) 196. The AMF 192 is a control node that handles signaling between the UE 104 and the core network 190. In general, SMF 194 provides QoS flows and session management. All user internet protocol (Internet protocol, IP) packets are transmitted through the UPF 195. The UPF 195 provides UE IP address assignment as well as other functions. The UPF 195 is connected to an IP service 197. The IP services 197 may include the internet, intranets, IP multimedia subsystems (IP Multimedia Subsystem, IMS), PS streaming services, and/or other IP services.

A base station may also be called a gNB, a Node B, an evolved Node B (eNB), an access point, a base transceiver station, a radio base station, a radio transceiver, a transceiver function, a basic service set (basic service set, BSS), an extended service set (extended service set, ESS), a transmission and reception point (transmit reception point, TRP), or some other suitable terminology. The base station 102 provides an access point for the UE 104 to the EPC 160 or the core network 190. Examples of UEs 104 include a cellular telephone, a smart phone, a session initiation protocol (session initiation protocol, SIP) phone, a laptop, a personal digital assistant (personal digital assistant, PDA), a satellite radio, a global positioning system, a multimedia device, a video device, a digital audio player (e.g., MP3 player), a camera, a game console, a tablet computer, a smart device, a wearable device, a vehicle, an electricity meter, an air pump, a large or small kitchen appliance, a healthcare device, an implant, a sensor/actuator, a display, or any other similar functional device. Some UEs 104 may be referred to as IoT devices (e.g., parking timers, air pumps, toasters, vehicles, heart monitors, etc.). The UE 104 may also be referred to as a station, mobile station, subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, or some other suitable terminology.

Although the invention may refer to a 5G New Radio (NR), the invention is applicable to other similar areas such as LTE, LTE-Advanced (LTE-a), code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), global system for mobile communications (GSM), or other wireless/radio access technologies.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram of a base station 210 in communication with a UE 250 in an access network. In DL, IP packets from EPC 160 may be provided to controller/processor 275. Controller/processor 275 implements layer 3 and layer 2 functions. Layer 3 includes a radio resource control (radio resource control, RRC) layer, and layer 2 includes a packet data convergence protocol (packet data convergence protocol, PDCP) layer, a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and a medium access control (medium access control, MAC) layer. Controller/processor 275 provides: RRC layer functions associated with broadcast of system information (e.g., MIB, SIB), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-radio access technology (radio access technology, RAT) mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functions associated with header compression/decompression, security (ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification) and handover support functions; RLC layer functions associated with transmission of upper layer Packet Data Units (PDUs), error correction by ARQ, concatenation, segmentation and reassembly of RLC service data units (service data unit, SDU), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functions associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto Transport Blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction by HARQ, priority handling and logical channel prioritization.

A Transmit (TX) processor 216 and a Receive (RX) processor 270 implement layer 1 functions associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, which includes the Physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on the transport channel, forward error correction (forward error correction, FEC) encoding/decoding of the transport channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping on the physical channel, modulation/demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. TX processor 216 processes the mapping to signal constellations based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase-shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK), M-phase-shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-quadrature amplitude modulation, M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols may then be split into parallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to OFDM subcarriers, multiplexed with reference signals (e.g., pilots) in the time and/or frequency domain, and then combined together using an inverse fast fourier transform (Inverse Fast Fourier Transform, IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying the time domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM streams are spatially precoded to produce a plurality of spatial streams. The channel estimates from the channel estimator 274 may be used to determine coding and modulation schemes and for spatial processing. The channel estimate may be derived from a reference signal and/or channel condition feedback transmitted by the UE 250. Each spatial stream may then be provided to a different antenna 220 via a separate transmitter 218 TX. Each transmitter 218TX may modulate an RF carrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission.

At the UE 250, each receiver 254RX receives a signal through its respective antenna 252. Each receiver 254RX recovers information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to a Receive (RX) processor 256.TX processor 268 and RX processor 256 implement layer 1 functions associated with various signal processing functions. RX processor 256 may perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for UE 250. If multiple spatial streams are destined for UE 250, they may be combined into a single OFDM symbol stream by RX processor 256. The RX processor 256 then converts the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain using a fast fourier transform (Fast Fourier Transform, FFT). The frequency domain signal comprises a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols and reference signals on each subcarrier are recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation points transmitted by base station 210. These soft decisions may be based on channel estimates computed by channel estimator 258. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals that were originally transmitted by the base station 210 on the physical channel. The data and control signals are then provided to a controller/processor 259 that implements layer 3 and layer 2 functions.

The controller/processor 259 can be associated with a memory 260 that stores program codes and data. Memory 260 may be referred to as a computer-readable medium. In the UL, the controller/processor 259 provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, deciphering, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the EPC 160. The controller/processor 259 is also responsible for error detection using ACK and/or NACK protocols to support HARQ operations.

Similar to the functionality described in connection with DL transmissions by the base station 210, the controller/processor 259 provides RRC layer functions associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connection, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functions associated with header compression/decompression and security (ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functions associated with upper layer PDU delivery, error correction by ARQ, concatenation, segmentation and reassembly of RLC SDUs, re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functions associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto TBs, demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction by HARQ, priority handling and logical channel prioritization.

TX processor 268 may use channel estimation results from the reference signals or feedback transmitted by base station 210 by channel estimator 258 to select the appropriate coding and modulation scheme and facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by TX processor 268 may be provided to different antennas 252 via separate transmitters 254 TX. Each transmitter 254TX may modulate an RF carrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission. UL transmissions are processed at base station 210 in a manner similar to that described in connection with the receiver functionality at UE 250. Each receiver 218RX receives a signal through its corresponding antenna 220. Each receiver 218RX recovers information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to the RX processor 270.

The controller/processor 275 may be associated with a memory 276 that stores program codes and data. Memory 276 may be referred to as a computer-readable medium. In the UL, the controller/processor 275 provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, deciphering, header decompression, control signal processing to recover IP packets from the UE 250. IP packets from controller/processor 275 may be provided to EPC 160. The controller/processor 275 is also responsible for error detection using ACK and/or NACK protocols to support HARQ operations.

A New Radio (NR) may refer to a radio configured to operate according to a new air interface (e.g., other than an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (Orthogonal Frequency Divisional Multiple Access, OFDMA) based air interface) or a fixed transport layer (e.g., other than Internet Protocol (IP)). NR may utilize OFDM with Cyclic Prefix (CP) on uplink and downlink and may include support for half-duplex operation using time division duplex (time division duplexing, TDD). NR may include critical tasks targeting enhanced mobile broadband (Enhanced Mobile Broadband, eMBB) services with a wide bandwidth (e.g., over 80 MHz), millimeter waves (mmW) targeting high carrier frequencies (e.g., 60 GHz), massive MTC (emtc) targeting non-backward compatible MTC technologies, and/or ultra-reliable low latency communication (ultra-reliable low latency communication, URLLC) services.

A single component carrier bandwidth of 100MHz may be supported. In one example, an NR Resource Block (RB) may span 12 subcarriers with a subcarrier bandwidth of 60kHz within a 0.25ms duration or a bandwidth of 30kHz within a 0.5ms duration (similarly, a 50MHz BW of 15kHz SCS within a 1ms duration). Each radio frame may consist of 10 subframes (10, 20, 40 or 80 NR slots) of length 10 ms. Each slot may indicate a link direction (i.e., DL or UL) for data transmission, and the link direction of each slot may be dynamically switched. Each slot may include DL/UL data and DL/UL control data. UL and DL slots for NR may be described in more detail below with respect to fig. 5 and 6.

The NR RAN may include a Central Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU). An NR BS (e.g., a gNB, a 5G node B, a transmission and reception point (transmission reception point, TRP), an Access Point (AP)) may correspond to one or more BSs. An NR cell may be configured as an access cell (ACell) or a data only cell (DCell). For example, the RAN (e.g., a central unit or a distributed unit) may configure the cells. The DCell may be a cell for carrier aggregation or dual connectivity, and may not be used for initial access, cell selection/reselection, or handover. In some cases, the DCell may not transmit a synchronization signal (synchronization signal, SS), and in some cases, the DCell may transmit the SS. The NR BS may transmit a downlink signal indicating a cell type to the UE. Based on the cell type indication, the UE may communicate with the NR BS. For example, the UE may determine an NR BS considering cell selection, access, handover, and/or measurement based on the indicated cell type.

Fig. 3 illustrates an example logical architecture of a distributed RAN 300 in accordance with aspects of the present invention. The 5G access node 306 may include an access node controller (access node controller, ANC) 302. The ANC may be a Central Unit (CU) of the distributed RAN. The backhaul interface to the next generation core network (next generation core network, NG-CN) 304 may terminate at the ANC. The backhaul interface to the neighboring next generation access node (next generation access node, NG-AN) 310 may terminate at the ANC. ANC may include one or more TRP 308 (which may also be referred to as BS, NR BS, nodeb, 5G NB, AP, or some other terminology). As described above, TRP may be used interchangeably with "cell".

TRP 308 may be a Distributed Unit (DU). TRP may be connected to one ANC (ANC 302) or more than one ANC (not shown). For example, for RAN sharing, radio as a service (radio as a service, raaS), and service specific ANC deployments, TRP may be connected to more than one ANC. The TRP may include one or more antenna ports. The TRP may be configured to provide services to the UE either individually (e.g., dynamic selection) or jointly (e.g., joint transmission).

The local architecture of the distributed RAN 300 may be used to illustrate the forwarding definition. An architecture may be defined that supports a forward-drive solution across different deployment types. For example, the architecture may be based on transmit network capabilities (e.g., bandwidth, latency, and/or jitter). The architecture may share functionality and/or components with LTE. According to aspects, a next generation AN (NG-AN) 310 may support dual connectivity with NR. The NG-AN may share common preambles for LTE and NR.

The architecture may enable collaboration between and among TRPs 308. For example, there may be collaboration within the TRP and/or across TRP via ANC 302. According to aspects, there may be no need/presence of an interface between TRPs.

According to aspects, dynamic configuration of split logic functions may exist within the architecture of the distributed RAN 300. The PDCP, RLC, MAC protocol may be adaptively placed at ANC or TRP.

Fig. 4 illustrates an example physical architecture of a distributed RAN 400 in accordance with aspects of the invention. The centralized core network element (centralized core network unit, C-CU) 402 may host core network functions. The C-CU may be centrally deployed. The C-CU functions may be offloaded (e.g., to an advanced wireless service (advanced wireless service, AWS)) in an effort to handle peak capacity. The centralized RAN unit (centralized RAN unit, C-RU) 404 may host one or more ANC functions. Alternatively, the C-RU may host the core network functions locally. The C-RU may have a distributed deployment. The C-RU may be closer to the network edge. Distributed Units (DUs) 406 may host one or more TRPs. The DUs may be located at the edge of a Radio Frequency (RF) enabled network.

Fig. 5 is a diagram 500 illustrating an example of DL-centric time slots. The DL-centric time slot may comprise a control portion 502. The control portion 502 may be present in the beginning or beginning portion of the DL-centric time slot. The control portion 502 may include various scheduling information and/or control information corresponding to various portions of the DL-centric time slot. In some configurations, the control portion 502 may be a Physical DL Control Channel (PDCCH), as shown in fig. 5. The DL-centric time slot may also include a DL data portion 504.DL data portion 504 may sometimes be referred to as the payload of a DL-centric time slot. The DL data portion 504 may include communication resources for transmitting DL data from a scheduling entity (e.g., UE or BS) to a subordinate entity (e.g., UE). In some configurations, DL data portion 504 may be a Physical DL Shared Channel (PDSCH).

DL-centric time slots may also include a common UL portion 506. The common UL portion 506 may sometimes be referred to as a UL burst, a common UL burst, and/or various other suitable terms. The common UL portion 506 may include feedback information corresponding to various other portions of the DL-centric time slot. For example, the common UL portion 506 may include feedback information corresponding to the control portion 502. Non-limiting examples of feedback information may include an ACK signal, a NACK signal, a HARQ indicator, and/or various other suitable types of information. The common UL portion 506 may include additional or alternative information, such as information related to random access channel (random access channel, RACH) procedures, scheduling requests (scheduling request, SR), and various other suitable types of information.

As shown in fig. 5, the end of DL data portion 504 may be separated in time from the beginning of common UL portion 506. This time separation may sometimes be referred to as a gap, guard period, guard interval, and/or various other suitable terms. The separation provides time from DL communication (e.g., a receiving operation of a subordinate entity (e.g., UE)) to UL communication (e.g., a transmission of a subordinate entity (e.g., UE)) for handover. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the foregoing is merely one example of DL-centric time slots and that alternative structures may exist having similar features without necessarily departing from aspects described herein.

Fig. 6 is a diagram 600 illustrating an example of UL-centric time slots. The UL-centric time slot may comprise a control portion 602. The control portion 602 may be present in the beginning or beginning portion of the UL-centric time slot. The control portion 602 in fig. 6 may be similar to the control portion 502 described above with reference to fig. 5. UL-centric time slots may also include UL data portion 604.UL data portion 604 may sometimes be referred to as the payload of a UL-centric time slot. The UL portion may refer to communication resources for transmitting UL data from a subordinate entity (e.g., UE) to a scheduling entity (e.g., UE or BS). In some configurations, the control portion 602 may be a Physical DL Control Channel (PDCCH).

As shown in fig. 6, the end of the control portion 602 may be separated in time from the beginning of the UL data portion 604. This time separation may sometimes be referred to as a gap, guard period, guard interval, and/or various other suitable terms. This separation provides time for switching from DL communication (e.g., a receive operation by the scheduling entity) to UL communication (e.g., a transmission by the scheduling entity). UL-centric time slots may also include a common UL portion 606. The common UL portion 606 in fig. 6 may be similar to the common UL portion 506 described above with reference to fig. 5. Additionally or alternatively, the common UL portion 606 may include information related to channel quality indicators (channel quality indicator, CQI), sounding reference signals (sounding reference signal, SRS), and various other suitable types of information. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the foregoing is merely one example of UL-centric time slots, and that alternative structures may exist that have similar features without necessarily departing from the aspects described herein.

In some cases, two or more subordinate entities (e.g., UEs) may communicate with each other using side-downlink signals. Real world applications for such side-link communications may include public safety, proximity services, UE-to-network relay, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications, internet of things (Internet of Everything, ioE) communications, ioT communications, mission critical grids, and/or various other suitable applications. In general, a side-downlink signal may refer to a signal transmitted from one subordinate entity (e.g., UE 1) to another subordinate entity (e.g., UE 2) without relaying the communication through a scheduling entity (e.g., UE or BS), even though the scheduling entity may be used for scheduling and/or control purposes. In some examples, the side-uplink signal may be transmitted using a licensed spectrum (as opposed to a wireless local area network that typically uses an unlicensed spectrum).

Although for enhanced reduced capability (eRed Cap) UEs, the baseband bandwidth for the data channels PDSCH and PUSCH can be reduced to 5MHz, the maximum bandwidth for other physical channels and signals remains 20MHz. Since the eRedCap UE is expected to receive and process the PDCCH, it is reasonable to assume a post-FFT data buffer size of 20MHz at least for the initial symbol of the slot.

"UE BB bandwidth is reduced to 5MHz" refers to UE processing bandwidth, which represents the number of Resource Elements (REs) that can be processed by the eRedCAP UE per slot. The UE processing bandwidth may be different from the UE reception bandwidth.

The UE reception bandwidth is the maximum bandwidth supported by the RF and baseband circuitry for receiving and buffering signals. For the eRedCap UE, the reception bandwidth is kept at 20MHz to receive other physical channels and signals except PDSCH/PUSCH.

UE processing bandwidth refers to the number of REs that can be processed per slot, including operations like channel estimation, demodulation, and decoding. For eRedCap UEs, the processing bandwidth of PDSCH and PUSCH data channels is reduced to 5MHz.

While further discussion is required for potential reduction of post-FFT buffering in the remaining symbols of the slot, it is assumed that the 20MHz reception bandwidth for eRedCap UEs is reasonable. This dual mode support for NR and LTE implies the ability to receive and buffer 20MHz signals in a time slot.

In summary, the UE reception bandwidth can be considered to be 20MHz for all symbols in the slot, while the UE processing bandwidth is reduced to 5MHz for PDSCH and PUSCH of the eRedCap UE.

Fig. 7 is a diagram 700 illustrating a first scheduling scheme of a base station for reduced capability UEs. Reduced capability UEs have reduced processing bandwidth for the data channel physical downlink shared channel (physical downlink shared channel, PDSCH) and physical uplink shared channel (physical uplink shared channel, PUSCH) compared to standard capable UEs. For other signals or channels, reduced capability UEs have the same maximum processing bandwidth for baseband and Radio Frequency (RF) processing as standard capable UEs. The processing bandwidth represents the maximum number of resource elements that a reduced capability UE may process (including operations like channel estimation, demodulation and decoding) in a transmission time interval (transmission time interval, TTI), such as a slot.

In the example of fig. 7, a base station 702 establishes communication with a reduced capability UE 704. The base station 702 transmits in a plurality of time slots 730-0, 730-1, 730-2, 730-3, 732-0, 732-1, 732-2, 732-3, etc. In each slot, the base station 702 may schedule transmission of a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) and an associated PDSCH. As an example, in slot 730-0, base station 702 transmits PDCCH 742-1 and PDSCH 744-1; in slot 730-1, base station 702 transmits PDCCH 742-2 and PDSCH 744-2; etc.

The reduced capability UE 704 has a processing bandwidth of 5 megahertz (MHz) per slot for PDSCH and 20MHz per slot for PDCCH. The UE 704 indicates its reduced capabilities to the base station 702 via capability signaling. Thus, the base station 702 configures a transmission bandwidth of PDSCH to be within 5MHz per slot. However, the UE 704 may still receive and process PDCCHs having bandwidths of up to 20MHz per slot. Thus, in each slot, the UE 704 receives and processes a 20MHz PDCCH (e.g., PDCCH 742-1, etc.) and a 5MHz PDSCH (e.g., PDSCH 744-1, etc.). The scheduling scheme accommodates limited PDSCH processing capability of the reduced capability UE 704.

Fig. 8 is a diagram 800 illustrating a second scheduling scheme of a base station for reduced capability UEs. Similar to fig. 7, the reduced capability UE 804 has a limited PDSCH processing bandwidth of 5MHz per slot, but may receive and buffer PDSCH transmissions up to 20MHz per slot.

In this example, the base station 802 establishes communication with the reduced capability UE 804 over a carrier 810. The base station 802 transmits in a plurality of time slots 830-0, 830-1, … …, 830-N, 832-0, 832-1, … …, 832-N, etc. In some scenarios, the base station 802 may transmit PDSCH signals wider than 5MHz, such as for broadcasting transmissions to multiple UEs.

To accommodate the limited PDSCH processing capability of the UE 804, the base station 802 applies a scheduling gap after transmitting the wideband PDSCH. For example, in slot 830-0, base station 802 transmits a 20MHz PDCCH 842 and a 20MHz PDSCH 844. Subsequently, the base station 802 refrains from transmitting another PDSCH to the UE 804 for N slots from slots 830-1 through 830-N; then, in slots 830-1 through 830-N, which are scheduling slots, the UE 804 does not desire to receive or decode another PDSCH, thereby allowing the UE 804 time to process the 20MHz PDSCH 844 received in slot 830-0. The number of slots N may be determined based on frequency resource allocation of PDSCH including its bandwidth, and further, may be determined based on UE processing bandwidth. For example, N may be 3.

During the scheduling gap, the UE 804 may shut down RF circuitry to save power, stop PDCCH monitoring or PDSCH reception, etc. After a scheduling gap of N slots, the base station 802 resumes scheduling transmissions to the UE, such as PDCCH 843 and PDSCH 846 in slot 832-0. Thus, after slot 830-N, the UE receives PDCCH 843 and PDSCH 846 in slot 832-0. The scheduling scheme accommodates limited processing power of the reduced-capability UE 804.

To accommodate the limited PDSCH processing capability of the UE 804, if the base station 802 does not refrain from transmitting at least one of the two PDSCH in the same slot when the two PDSCH are wideband PDSCH, the UE may prioritize one PDSCH on the other PDSCH. For example, the wideband PDSCH carries system information blocks (systeminformation block, SIBs) while the other PDSCH is a unicast PDSCH. The UE may prioritize wideband PDSCH with SIBs. Alternatively, the UE may prioritize the unicast PDSCH.

To reduce PDCCH scheduling overhead when scheduling reduced capability UEs, a base station may support a multi-slot PDSCH scheduling technique. In this scheme, a single PDCCH is used to schedule PDSCH transmissions across multiple slots. For example, the base station may transmit a PDCCH in slot X that schedules PDSCH transmissions in slots x+1, x+2, and x+3. This avoids the need for a separate PDCCH in each slot to schedule PDSCH transmissions in that slot.

In the example of fig. 7, PDCCH 742-1 may schedule transmissions of PDSCH 744-1, 744-2, 744-3, 744-4 according to this technique. In the example of fig. 8, PDCCH 842 may schedule transmission of PDSCH 844, 846 according to the technique.

Fig. 9 is another diagram 900 illustrating a second scheduling scheme of a base station for reduced capability UEs. In this example, the eRedCap UE 904 has a processing bandwidth of 5MHz per slot and a reception bandwidth of 20MHz per slot for the PDSCH. The eRedCap UE 904 is expected to be able to receive and process PDCCHs with bandwidths of up to 20MHz per slot. The eRedCap UE 904 with poor processing capability may report its capabilities to the base station 902 via capability signaling.

In this example, base station 902 establishes communication with eRedCAP UE 904 via a carrier 910. The base station 902 transmits in a plurality of time slots 930-0, … …, 930-M, 931-0, 933-0, … …, 933-N, etc. In some scenarios, base station 902 may transmit PDSCH signals wider than 5MHz, such as for broadcasting transmissions to multiple UEs.

To accommodate the limited PDSCH processing capability of the eRedCap UE 904, the base station 902 applies a dynamically determined scheduling gap after transmitting the wideband PDSCH. The scheduling gap is proportional to the transmitted PDSCH bandwidth. The dynamic scheduling gap technique accommodates the limited processing power of the reduced-capability eRedCap UE 904.

For example, in slot 930-0, base station 902 transmits a 20MHz PDCCH 941-1 and a 20MHz PDSCH 944-1. Because 20MHz PDSCH 944-1 exceeds the 5MHz processing bandwidth of the eRedCap UE, the base station refrains from transmitting another PDSCH to the UE for M slots from 930-1 to 930-M to allow the UE time to process the 20MHz PDSCH. The number of slots M may be determined based on a ratio of PDSCH bandwidth to UE processing bandwidth. Since 20MHz is 4 times 5MHz, M may be set to 4 slots in this example.

If the PDSCH bandwidth is appropriate for the UE's capability, no scheduling gap is needed. For example, the 5MHz PDSCH 945-1 transmitted in time slot 931-0 does not exceed the 5MHz capability of the UE, so no scheduling gap is applied until the signal is transmitted in the next time slot 933-0.

In slot 933-0, the base station transmits a 20MHz PDCCH 943-1 and a 10MHz PDSCH 946-1. Because the 10MHz PDSCH exceeds the 5MHz processing bandwidth, the base station applies a scheduling gap from time slots 931-1 to 931-N before transmitting the next PDSCH in the subsequent time slots. Since the PDSCH of 10MHz is 2 times the processing bandwidth of 5MHz, N may be set to 2 slots. Thus, the scheduling gap is proportional to the bandwidth of transmitting PDSCH compared to the UE processing capability.

Fig. 10 is a diagram 1000 illustrating a random access procedure of a reduced capability UE. The eRedCap UE 1004 has a limited processing bandwidth of 5 megahertz (MHz) per slot for the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), but may receive and buffer PDSCH transmissions up to 20MHz per slot. For other physical channels, such as the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), the eRedCap UE 1004 has the same maximum processing bandwidth per slot of 20MHz as a standard capable UE.

The eRedCap UE 1004 transmits the random access preamble 1040 to the base station 1002 at time t 0. The base station 1002 transmits a PDCCH 1042 carrying downlink control information (downlink control information, DCI) 1070 at time t1, the PDCCH 1042 scheduling transmission of a PDSCH 1044 carrying a Random Access Response (RAR) at time t 2. The PDSCH 1044 bandwidth depends on the number of RAR protocol data units (protocol data unit, PDUs) that are responsive to the detected preamble from the same Random Access Channel (RACH) occasion.

In a first option, if the PDSCH 1044 bandwidth does not exceed the 5MHz processing capability of the eRedCap UE, the minimum time gap (t 3-t 2) between the PDSCH 1044 and the message 3PUSCH 1046 follows the standard duration of n1+n2+0.5ms, where N1 is the PDSCH processing time (i.e., the time required to process DL allocations and transmit ACK/NACK on PUCCH), N2 is the PUSCH preparation time (the time required to process UL grants and prepare uplink PUSCH transmissions), and 0.5ms is used for MAC processing (i.e., L2 processing).

However, if the PDSCH 1044 bandwidth exceeds 5MHz, the base station 1002 schedules UL grants in the PDSCH 1044 to provide additional time slots N ms beyond the standard duration, where N depends on the frequency resource allocation of the PDSCH 1044 including its bandwidth, and furthermore, it may depend on the eRedCap UE 1004 processing capability.

For example, if the eRedCap UE 1004 can process 5MHz per slot, this is equivalent to 25 Resource Blocks (RBs) x 14 symbols per slot = 350 RB symbols per slot with 15kHz subcarrier spacing. If the RAR PDSCH 1044 is scheduled over a 10MHz bandwidth spanning 12 orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, OFDM) symbols, this corresponds to 50 rbs×12 symbols per slot=600 RB symbols per slot. Since the 10MHz RAR PDSCH requires 600 RB symbols, whereas the eRedCap UE 1004 can only process 350 RB symbols per slot, the additional duration N required by the eRedCap UE 1004 is at least (24-14) =more than 10 symbols or 0.71 slots to handle wider RAR PDSCH transmissions. The eRedCap UE 1004 transmits a message 3pusch 1046 after this extended duration between t2 and t 3.

This scheduling method allows the base station 1002 to adapt to the limited PDSCH processing capability of the eRedCap UE 1004 when the PDSCH 1044 bandwidth exceeds the UE's per-slot processing capability. The additional scheduling gap relates to frequency resources of PDSCH including its bandwidth. It may also relate to UE capabilities. For example, the additional scheduling gap may be proportional to PDSCH bandwidth regarding UE capabilities.

The base station 1002 may utilize the early indication in message 1 from the eRedCap UE 1004 to apply a longer duration between the RAR PDSCH 1044 and the message 3pusch 1046 than a legacy UE. This allows the base station 1002 to schedule RAR PDSCH transmissions over 5MHz specifically for the eRedCap UE 1004 because it knows the UE's capabilities.

Alternatively, for simplicity, the base station 1002 may schedule RAR UL grants to the eRedCap UE based on minimum timing requirements to accommodate limited processing power, regardless of any early indication in message 1. The method schedules RAR transmissions to the eRedCap UE using the same enhanced timing in the cell where the eRedCap UE is allowed to camp, independent of the early indication.

In a second option, the base station 1002 supports dedicated RAR PDSCH transmissions specifically for eRedCap UEs that are scheduled in RBs not exceeding 5 MHz. This option requires an early indication in message 1 to distinguish the eRedCap UEs. The base station 1002 needs to transmit the dedicated RAR PDSCH for the eRedCap UE in a separate slot because the same random access RNTI cannot be used to transmit both PDCCHs in the same slot.

Depending on the specific implementation of base station 1002, the first option of scheduling loose timing for the eRedCap UE and the second option of dedicated RAR PDSCH transmission may or may not require an early indication of separate message 1. Early indication may help differentiate eRedCap UEs, but this may not be strictly necessary if the base station applies consistent scheduling rules to eRedCap UEs within the cell.

Subsequently, the base station 1002 transmits a PDCCH 1047 at t4, which schedules transmission of an Msg4PDSCH 1048 at t 5. When the Msg4PDSCH 1048 is scheduled for the eRedCap UE 1004 with limited PDSCH processing capability per slot, in the first technique, the base station 1002 schedules Msg4PDSCH 1048 transmissions within the PDSCH processing bandwidth of 5MHz per slot of the eRedCap UE. This allows the eRedCap UE 1004 to process the Msg4PDSCH 1048 within its capabilities. To maintain performance over a limited 5MHz bandwidth, techniques such as Msg4 payload size reduction, slot aggregation, and multi-slot PDSCH scheduling may be used.

In a second technique, the base station schedules the Msg4PDSCH 1048 exceeding 5MHz by allowing additional slots for HARQ ACK feedback. For example, if the eRedCap UE 1004 receives the Msg4PDSCH 1048 of 20MHz, it may require 4 slots to process 20MHz transmissions. Adaptive scheduling of ACKs in 3 slots later than the original design of legacy UEs may accommodate the limited per-slot processing capability of eRedCap UEs.

The base station 1002 may utilize the early indication of the eRedCap UE to apply appropriate Msg4 PDSCH 1048 scheduling and timing enhancements specific to the eRedCap UE 1004. Alternatively, the base station 1002 may apply consistent Msg4 scheduling rules to eRedCap UEs within a cell without relying on early indications.

This scheduling method allows the base station 1002 to accommodate the limited PDSCH processing capability per slot of the eRedCap UE 1004 while the base station 1002 is scheduling Msg4 PDSCH transmissions that potentially exceed the capability of the UE. The additional scheduling gap relates to frequency resources of PDSCH including its bandwidth. It may also relate to UE capabilities. For example, the additional scheduling gap may be proportional to the Msg4 PDSCH bandwidth regarding the UE capability.

Fig. 11 is a flow chart 1100 of a method (process) for receiving data from a base station. The method may be performed by a UE (e.g., UE 704, UE 804, UE 904, UE 1004, UE 250). In operation 1102, the UE may report processing capability and/or an early indication of processing capability to the base station. In operation 1104, the UE receives a first signal from the base station in a first time slot, the first signal being a downlink data signal in a first frequency resource allocation. The downlink data signal may be a physical downlink shared channel (physical downlink shared channel, PDSCH) carrying data.

In operation 1106, the UE communicates a second signal with the base station in a second time slot. The configured time gap between the first time slot and the second time slot is based on a comparison of the first frequency resource allocation and the second frequency resource allocation. In some configurations, the first frequency resource allocation has a first bandwidth of the first signal. The first bandwidth is a total bandwidth span of frequency resources of the first signal or a total utilization bandwidth of frequency resources of the first signal. The second frequency resource allocation has a second bandwidth. The second bandwidth may be preconfigured at the UE or received from the base station. In some configurations, the second bandwidth is related to the processing capability of the UE. In some configurations, the comparison of the first frequency resource allocation to the second frequency resource allocation is a comparison of the first bandwidth and the second bandwidth.

When the second bandwidth is less than the first bandwidth, the configured time gap is a first time gap and includes one or more time slots that allow the UE to process at least the first signal and the second signal. When the second bandwidth is not less than the first bandwidth, the configured time gap is a second time gap and includes zero or more slots that allow the UE to process at least the first signal and the second signal. In some configurations, the first time gap is not less than the second time gap.

In some configurations, the first time gap is n1+n2+x+n, and the second time gap is n1+n2+x. N1 represents PDSCH processing time corresponding to the capability of the UE. N2 represents PUSCH preparation time corresponding to the capability of the UE. X represents the duration required for the UE to process a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE). N represents an additional duration required for the UE to process a Random Access Response (RAR) message scheduled in a frequency resource allocation greater than the second bandwidth.

In some configurations, the downlink data signal includes a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) carrying a Random Access Response (RAR) message with a RAR Uplink (UL) grant, and the second signal includes a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) scheduled by the RAR UL grant. In some configurations, the downlink data signal includes an MsgB Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) in a random access procedure, and the second signal includes a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) carrying a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) Acknowledgement (ACK) in response to receiving the MsgB PDSCH.

Fig. 12 is a flow chart 1200 of a method (process) for transmitting data to a UE. The method may be performed by a base station (e.g., base station 702, base station 802, base station 902, base station 1002, base station 210). In operation 1202, the base station receives a report of processing capabilities and/or an early indication of processing capabilities from the UE. In operation 1204, the base station transmits a first signal to the UE in a first time slot, the first signal being a downlink data signal in a first frequency resource allocation. In operation 1206, the base station determines a configured time gap between the first time slot and the second time slot based on a comparison of the first frequency resource allocation and the second frequency resource allocation.

The first frequency resource allocation has a first bandwidth of the first signal. The first bandwidth is a total bandwidth span of frequency resources of the first signal or a total utilization bandwidth of frequency resources of the first signal. The second frequency resource allocation has a second bandwidth. In some configurations, the second bandwidth is related to the processing capability of the UE. The base station may signal the second bandwidth to the UE.

In some configurations, the comparison of the first frequency resource allocation to the second frequency resource allocation is a comparison of the first bandwidth and the second bandwidth. When the second bandwidth is less than the first bandwidth, the configured time interval is determined to be the first time interval. The first time slot includes one or more time slots that allow the UE to process at least the first signal and the second signal. When the second bandwidth is not smaller than the first bandwidth, the configured time interval is determined to be a second time interval. The second time slot includes zero or more time slots that allow the UE to process at least the first signal and the second signal. In some configurations, the first time gap is not less than the second time gap.

In some configurations, the first time gap is determined to be n1+n2+x+n and the second time gap is determined to be n1+n2+x. N1 represents PDSCH processing time corresponding to the capability of the UE. N2 represents PUSCH preparation time corresponding to the capability of the UE. X represents the duration required for the UE to process a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE). N represents the additional duration for which the UE needs to process a Random Access Response (RAR) message scheduled in a frequency resource allocation greater than the second bandwidth.

In operation 1208, the base station communicates a second signal with the UE in a second time slot. In some configurations, the downlink data signal includes a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) carrying a Random Access Response (RAR) message with a RAR Uplink (UL) grant, and the second signal includes a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) scheduled by the RAR UL grant. In some configurations, the downlink data signal includes an MsgB Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) in a random access procedure, and the second signal includes a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) carrying a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) Acknowledgement (ACK) in response to receiving the MsgB PDSCH.

It should be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of blocks in the processes/flowcharts disclosed is an illustration of exemplary approaches. Based on design preferences, it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of blocks in the processes/flowcharts may be rearranged. Further, some blocks may be combined or omitted. The accompanying method claims present elements of the various blocks in a sample order, and are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but are to be accorded the full scope consistent with the language claims, wherein reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean "one and only one" (unless specifically so stated), but rather "one or more". The word "exemplary" means "serving as an example, instance, or illustration" in this document. Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. The term "some" means one or more unless specifically stated otherwise. Combinations such as "at least one of A, B or C", "one or more of A, B or C", "at least one of A, B and C", "one or more of A, B and C", and "A, B, C or any combination thereof" include any combination of A, B and/or C, and may include multiples of a, multiples of B, or multiples of C. Specifically, a combination such as "at least one of A, B or C", "one or more of A, B or C", "at least one of A, B and C", "one or more of A, B and C" and "A, B, C or any combination thereof" may be a alone, B alone, C, A and B, A and C, B and C, or a and B and C, wherein any such combination may comprise one or more members or members of A, B or C. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the various aspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims. Furthermore, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited in the claims. The words "module," mechanism, "" element, "" device, "etc. cannot be used in place of the word" means. Thus, unless the phrase "means" is used to expressly state the element, the claim elements should not be construed as means-plus-function.

Claims (20)

1. A method of wireless communication of a User Equipment (UE), the method comprising:

receiving a first signal from a base station in a first time slot, the first signal being a downlink data signal in a first frequency resource allocation; and is also provided with

A second signal is communicated with the base station in a second time slot, wherein a configured time gap between the first time slot and the second time slot is based on a comparison of the first frequency resource allocation and a second frequency resource allocation.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first frequency resource allocation has a first bandwidth of the first signal, wherein the first bandwidth is a total bandwidth span of frequency resources of the first signal or a total utilized bandwidth of the frequency resources of the first signal, wherein the second frequency resource allocation has a second bandwidth.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the comparison of the first frequency resource allocation to the second frequency resource allocation is a comparison of the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the configured time gap is a first time gap and includes one or more time slots that allow the UE to process at least the first signal and the second signal when the second bandwidth is less than the first bandwidth.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the configured time gap is a second time gap and includes zero or more slots that allow the UE to process at least the first signal and the second signal when the second bandwidth is not less than the first bandwidth.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first time gap is not less than the second time gap.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the first time gap is n1+n2+x+n and the second time gap is n1+n2+x, wherein:

n1 represents a PDSCH processing time corresponding to the UE's capability,

n2 represents PUSCH preparation time corresponding to the capability of the UE,

x represents a duration required for the UE to process a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE); and is also provided with

N represents an additional duration required for the UE to process a Random Access Response (RAR) message scheduled in a frequency resource allocation greater than the second bandwidth.

8. The method of claim 2, wherein the second bandwidth is preconfigured at the UE or received from the base station.

9. The method of claim 2, wherein the second bandwidth is related to a processing capability of the UE.

10. The method of claim 9, the method further comprising: reporting the processing power to the base station.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the downlink data signal comprises a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) carrying a Random Access Response (RAR) message with a RAR Uplink (UL) grant, and wherein the second signal comprises a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) scheduled with the RAR UL grant.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the downlink data signal comprises an MsgB Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) in a random access procedure, and wherein the second signal comprises a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) carrying a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) Acknowledgement (ACK) in response to receiving the MsgB PDSCH.

13. A method of wireless communication of a base station, the method comprising:

transmitting a first signal in a first time slot, the first signal being a downlink data signal in a first frequency resource allocation; and

a second signal is communicated with a User Equipment (UE) in a second time slot, wherein a configured time gap between the first time slot and the second time slot is based on a comparison of the first frequency resource allocation and a second frequency resource allocation.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the first frequency resource allocation has a first bandwidth of the first signal, wherein the first bandwidth is a total bandwidth span of frequency resources of the first signal or a total utilized bandwidth of the frequency resources of the first signal, wherein the second frequency resource allocation has a second bandwidth.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the comparison of the first frequency resource allocation to the second frequency resource allocation is a comparison of the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the configured time gap is a first time gap and includes one or more time slots that allow the UE to process at least the first signal and the second signal when the second bandwidth is less than the first bandwidth.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the configured time gap is a second time gap and includes zero or more slots that allow the UE to process at least the first signal and the second signal when the second bandwidth is not less than the first bandwidth.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the first time gap is not less than the second time gap.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the first time gap is n1+n2+x+n and the second time gap is n1+n2+x, wherein:

n1 represents a PDSCH processing time corresponding to the UE's capability,

n2 represents PUSCH preparation time corresponding to the capability of the UE,

x represents a duration required for the UE to process a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE); and

n represents an additional duration for which the UE processes a Random Access Response (RAR) message scheduled in a frequency resource allocation greater than the second bandwidth.

20. An apparatus of wireless communication, the apparatus being a User Equipment (UE), the apparatus comprising:

a memory; and

at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to:

receiving a first signal from a base station in a first time slot, the first signal being a downlink data signal in a first frequency resource allocation; and

a second signal is communicated with the base station in a second time slot, wherein a configured time gap between the first time slot and the second time slot is based on a comparison of the first frequency resource allocation and a second frequency resource allocation.