CN117998626A - Method and device for mobile communication - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a method and a device for mobile communication, wherein the method can comprise the following steps: receiving, by a processor of an apparatus, a configuration from a wireless node of a wireless network, wherein the configuration indicates one or more non-cell definition synchronization signal blocks associated with a portion of bandwidth for small data transmissions; and initiating, by the processor, a small data transfer process on the bandwidth portion according to the configuration. By utilizing the invention, mobile communication can be better performed.

Description

Method and device for mobile communication

Technical Field

The present invention relates to mobile communications, and more particularly to supporting small data transmissions (SMALL DATA transmission, SDT) on a bandwidth part (BWP) with non-cell-defining synchronization signal block, NCD-SSB (e.g., for reduced capability (reduced capability, redCap) User Equipment (UE) and/or non-RedCap UE).

Background

Unless otherwise indicated, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.

In the third generation partnership project (3rd Generation Partnership Project,3GPP) Release 17, a new type of UE, called RedCap UE (also called NR lightweight UE (NR-Light UE)), was introduced. Generally, redCap UE is associated with lower communication capabilities than typical UEs (or referred to as non-RedCap UE), such as high-end UEs supporting enhanced mobile broadband (enhanced mobile broadband, eMBB) and/or ultra-reliable low-delay communication (ultra-reliable low latency communication, URLLC) services. For example, redCap UE may be limited in terms of maximum bandwidth (e.g., 20MHz in Frequency Range 1 (Frequency Range 1, FR 1), 100MHz in FR2, etc.), maximum transmission power (e.g., 20dBm, 14dBm, etc.), number of receive antennas (e.g., 1 receive antenna, 2 receive antennas, etc.), and so on. The reduced complexity helps to increase the cost effectiveness of NR-Light devices, the reduced power consumption helps to extend battery life, and the device footprint may be reduced, which may create a wide range of applications such as industrial sensors, video surveillance, and wearable devices.

To support coexistence of RedCap UE and non-RedCap UE, separate Downlink (DL) initial BWP (initial bandwidth part, iBWP) for RedCap UE may be required so that common search space (common SEARCH SPACE, CSS) and common control resource set (control resource set, CORESET) may be configured on separate DL iBWP for RedCap UE to perform physical downlink control channel (physical downlink control channel, PDCCH) monitoring. However, in the current 5G New Radio (NR) framework, such RedCap-specific BWP may not contain cell-defining-SSB (CD-SSB) and CORESET #0, and stay on BWP without CD-SSB may cause problems for DL synchronization and paging monitoring that the UE needs to perform in SDT. In particular, in the SDT procedure, the UE needs to monitor DL responses from a Base Station (BS) after an initial transmission until a specific timer (e.g., T319a timer (i.e., SDT failure detection timer), cg-SDT-TIMEALIGNMENTTIMER, or configuredGrantTimer) expires. It can be said that the UE needs to monitor PDCCH on RedCap specific BWP without CD-SSB for a duration of up to 4000 ms to acquire the response of BS. In addition, during SDT, i.e., when the SDT timer is running, the UE also needs to monitor the paging search space to obtain system information (system information, SI) change indication or Public Warning System (PWS) notification, and the duration of the SDT timer may be as long as hundreds of milliseconds. Thus, staying in BWP without SSB may cause the UE to be unsynchronized in terms of DL reception and Uplink (UL) time accuracy.

Thus, there is a need for a solution that supports the SDT of RedCap UE in a more efficient and flexible manner in terms of time and resource utilization.

Disclosure of Invention

The following summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. That is, this summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts, benefits, and advantages of the novel and nonobvious techniques described herein. The preferred embodiments will be further described in the detailed description section. Accordingly, the following summary is not intended to identify essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a solution or solution to the aforementioned problems associated with supporting RedCap UE and/or SDTs other than RedCap UE.

In one aspect, a method for mobile communications includes: receiving, by a processor of an apparatus, a configuration from a wireless node of a wireless network, wherein the configuration indicates one or more non-cell definition synchronization signal blocks associated with a portion of bandwidth for small data transmissions; and initiating, by the processor, a small data transfer process on the bandwidth portion according to the configuration.

In one aspect, an apparatus for mobile communication includes: a transceiver in wireless communication with a network node of a wireless network; and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver, the processor performing the operations of: receiving, via the transceiver, a configuration from the network node, wherein the configuration indicates one or more non-cell definition synchronization signal blocks associated with a portion of bandwidth for small data transmissions; and initiating a small data transfer procedure on the bandwidth portion according to the configuration.

In one aspect, a method for mobile communications includes: transmitting, by a processor of a wireless node, a configuration to an apparatus, wherein the configuration indicates one or more non-cell definition synchronization signal blocks associated with a portion of bandwidth for small data transmissions; and performing, by the processor, a small data transfer procedure with the apparatus over the portion of bandwidth, wherein the small data transfer procedure is initiated from the apparatus according to the configuration.

By utilizing the invention, mobile communication can be better performed.

Notably, while the description of the invention may be provided in the context of specific Radio access technologies, networks and network topologies such as Long-Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-Advanced), LTE-Advanced Pro (LTE-Advanced Pro), 5 th Generation (5 ^th G), new Radio (NR), internet of things (Internet of Things, ioT), narrowband internet of things (Narrow Band-IoT, NB-IoT), industrial internet of things (Industrial Internet of Things, IIoT), 5g+ (beyond 5G, b 5G) and sixth Generation (6 ^th Generation, 6G)), the concepts, schemes presented herein and any variations or derivatives thereof may be implemented in, for or by other types of Radio access technologies, networks and network topologies. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is not limited to the examples described herein.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. It is to be understood that the figures are not necessarily to scale, since some of the components may be shown in a size that is not to scale in an actual implementation in order to clearly illustrate the concepts of the present invention.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example scenario of a time-frequency structure of an SSB according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example scenario of an SDT process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram of an example communication system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart of an example process according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart of another example process according to an embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

Detailed examples and implementations of the claimed subject matter are disclosed. It is to be understood, however, that the disclosed examples and embodiments are merely illustrative of the claimed subject matter, which may be embodied in various forms. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the exemplary embodiments and implementations described herein. Rather, these exemplary embodiments and implementations are provided so that this description will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the following description, well-known features and technical details may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the embodiments and implementations of the invention.

SUMMARY

Embodiments in accordance with the present invention relate to various techniques, methods, schemes and/or solutions that support RedCap UE and/or non-RedCap UE SDT-related on a BWP with NCD-SSB. According to the invention, a plurality of possible solutions can be implemented individually or jointly. That is, although these possible solutions may be described below separately, two or more of these solutions may be implemented in one combination or another combination.

Fig. 1 shows an example scenario 100 of the time-frequency structure of an SSB according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in fig. 1, the synchronization signal (synchronization signal, SS) and physical broadcast channel (physical broadcast channel, PBCH) block (SS block, SSB) may include a primary synchronization signal (primary synchronization signal, PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (secondary synchronization signal, SSs), each occupying 1 symbol and 127 subcarriers, and the PBCH spanning 3 OFDM symbols and 240 subcarriers, but leaving an unused portion in the middle on one symbol for SSs. The possible time positions of SSBs within a field may be determined by the subcarrier spacing and the period of the field in which the SSB is transmitted is configured by the network. During the half-frame, different SSBs may be transmitted in different spatial directions (i.e., using different beams, across the coverage area of the cell). Multiple SSBs may be transmitted within the frequency span of one carrier. The physical cell identifiers (PHYSICAL CELL IDENTIFIER, PCI) of SSBs transmitted at different frequency locations need not be unique, i.e. different SSBs in the frequency domain may have different PCIs. In particular, when the SSB is associated with the remaining minimum system information (REMAINING MINIMUM SI, RMSI), i.e., system information block type 1 (systeminformation block type, sib1), the SSB is referred to as a CD-SSB. On the other hand, when the SSB is not associated with RMSI, the SSB is referred to as NCD-SSB.

In 3GPP release 17, it is agreed that NCD-SSB can be configured to rrc_ CONNECTED RedCap UE (i.e., redCap UE in RRC connected state) via dedicated DL BWP configuration. In 3GPP Release18, it is further agreed that NCD-SSB can be configured to non-RedCap UE (RRC_CONNECTED non-RedCap UE) in the RRC CONNECTED state by dedicated DL BWP configuration. However, NCD-SSB is specifically configured to rrc_ CONNECTED RedCap UE and/or non-RedCap UE for measurement purposes only (e.g., serving cell measurements).

To support coexistence of RedCap UE and non-RedCap UE, a separate DL iBWP for RedCap UE may be required so that CSS and CORESET may be configured on separate DL iBWP for RedCap UE to perform PDCCH monitoring and/or SDT. However, in the current 5G NR framework, such RedCap-specific BWP may not contain CD-SSB and CORESET #0, and stay on BWP without CD-SSB would present problems for UE DL synchronization and paging monitoring required in SDT procedure. Thus, there is a need for a solution that supports the SDT of RedCap UE and/or non-RedCap UE in a more efficient manner in terms of time and resource utilization. Similarly, to avoid congestion of non-RedCap UE in BWP containing CD-SSB, non-RedCap UE may be configured with BWP containing NCD-SSB instead of CD-SSB.

In view of this, the present invention proposes various schemes related to supporting SDT on BWP with NCD-SSB for RedCap UE and/or non-RedCap UE. According to aspects of the invention, the NCD-SSB is configured (e.g., via radio resource control (radio resource control, RRC) signaling) to RedCap UE and/or not RedCap UE for SDT. It can also be said that for a UE (e.g., redCap UE or non-RedCap UE), when a BWP (e.g., redCap specific BWP) does not include a CD-SSB, a BWP configuration including an NCD-SSB may be provided so that the UE may initiate an SDT procedure on the BWP with the NCD-SSB. Accordingly, by applying the scheme of the present invention, the UE may stay in the BWP to perform SDT using the configured NCD-SSB without having to switch to another BWP with CD-SSB for DL synchronization and paging monitoring during SDT.

Fig. 2 illustrates an example scenario 200 of an SDT process according to an embodiment of the invention. Scenario 200 includes UE 210 (e.g., redCap UE or non RedCap UE) and wireless network 220 (e.g., LTE network, 5G NR network, ioT network, or 6G network), wireless network 220 may include BS (e.g., evolved Node-B, eNB), next generation Node-B (Next Generation Node-B, gNB), or transmission/reception point (TRP)). As shown in fig. 2, at 202, the UE 210 may initiate a resume (resume) procedure for the SDT by sending an RRC resume request (RRCResumeRequest) or RRC resume request1 (RRCResumeRequest 1) message with UL small data. In particular, the recovery process may be initiated when DL iBWP (e.g., redCap specific DL iBWP) does not include a CD-SSB but is configured with an NCD-SSB associated with a BWP for SDT. For example, the NCD-SSB associated with BWP for SDT may be configured in an information element (information element, IE) NCD-SSB-RedCapInitialBWP-SDT or BWP-DownlinkDedicatedSDT-r17, e.g., in a previously received RRC release (RRCRELEASE) message. It can also be said that the SDT procedure can be initiated on DL iBWP according to the configuration of the NCD-SSB. At 204, the wireless network 220 may send RRCRELEASE a message to the UE 210 that includes DL small data (if any). In particular, RRCRELEASE messages may include an IE "suspend configuration (SuspendConfig)", which may or may not have a new configuration of NCD-SSB.

In some embodiments, the initiation of the SDT procedure may be performed when the UE 210 operates in an RRC INACTIVE state (e.g., rrc_inactive), an RRC IDLE state (e.g., rrc_idle), or an RRC connected state.

In some implementations, the SDT procedure can be a Random Access (RA) SDT (RA-SDT) procedure or a configured admission (configured grant, CG) SDT (CG-SDT) procedure.

In some embodiments, the UE 210 may also maintain (maintain) timing advance (TIMING ADVANCE, TA) alignment and TA timer verification (validation) for the SDT procedure based on the NCD-SSB.

In some embodiments, the UE 210 may also perform Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurements based on the NCD-SSB to determine whether to perform the SDT procedure.

In some embodiments, the UE 210 may also perform RSRP measurements based on the NCD-SSBs to determine which SSB to select for RA-SDT and CG-SDT.

In some embodiments, the BWP may be RedCap-specific BWP.

Illustrative embodiments

Fig. 3 illustrates an example communication system 300 having an example communication device 310 and an example network device 320, according to an embodiment of the invention. Each of the communication device 310 and the network device 320 may perform various functions to implement the schemes, techniques, processes, and methods described herein in connection with supporting SDT on a BWP with NCD-SSB, including the scenarios/schemes described above and the processes 400 and 500 described below.

The communication device 310 may be part of an electronic device, which may be a UE (e.g., redCap UE or non-RedCap UE), such as a portable or mobile device, a wearable device, a wireless communication device, or a computing device. For example, the communications apparatus 310 may be implemented in a smart phone, a smart watch, a personal digital assistant, a digital camera, or a computing device such as a tablet, laptop, or notebook. The communication device 310 may also be part of a machine-type device, which may be an IoT, NB-IoT or IIoT device, such as a stationary or fixed device, a home device, a wired communication device or a computing device. For example, the communication device 310 may be implemented in a smart thermostat, a smart refrigerator, a smart door lock, a wireless speaker, or a home control center. Or the communication device 310 may be implemented in the form of one or more Integrated-Circuit (IC) chips, such as including, but not limited to, one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, one or more Reduced-Instruction-Set-Computing (RISC) processors, or one or more Complex-Instruction-Set-Computing (CISC) processors. Communication device 310 may contain at least some of the components shown in fig. 3, such as processor 912. The communications apparatus 310 can also include one or more other components (e.g., an internal power source, a display device, and/or a user interface device) that are not relevant to the present teachings, and thus, for brevity, such components of the communications apparatus 310 are neither shown in fig. 3 nor described below.

The network device 320 may be part of an electronic device, which may be a network node, such as a BS, a small cell, a router, or a gateway. For example, network device 320 may be implemented in an eNB in an LTE, LTE-Advanced, or LTE-Advanced Pro network, or in a gNB/TRP in a 5G, NR, ioT, NB-IoT or IIoT network. Or network device 320 may be implemented in the form of one or more IC chips such as including, but not limited to, one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, one or more RISC or CISC processors. Network device 320 may include at least some of the components shown in fig. 3, such as processor 322. The network device 320 may also include one or more other components (e.g., internal power supplies, display devices, and/or user interface devices) that are not relevant to the proposed solution of the present invention, and thus, for the sake of brevity, such components of the network device 320 are neither shown in fig. 3 nor described below.

In one aspect, each processor 312 and 322 may be implemented in the form of one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, or one or more CISC processors. That is, although the present invention may use the singular term "processor" to refer to the processors 312 and 322, each processor 312 and 322 may include multiple processors in some embodiments and a single processor in other embodiments according to the present invention. On the other hand, each of the processor 312 and the processor 322 may be implemented in hardware (and firmware, optional) with electronic components including, but not limited to, one or more transistors, one or more diodes, one or more capacitors, one or more resistors, one or more inductors, one or more memristors (memristor), and/or one or more varactors, which may be configured and arranged to achieve particular objects in accordance with the invention. In other words, in at least some embodiments, each processor 312 and 322 may be dedicated machines specifically designed, arranged, and configured to perform specific tasks in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention, including supporting SDT on BWP with NCD-SSB in devices (such as represented by communication device 310) and networks (such as represented by network device 320).

In some implementations, the communication device 310 may also include a transceiver 316, the transceiver 316 being coupled to the processor 312 and capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data. In some embodiments, transceiver 316 is capable of wireless communication with different types of UEs and/or wireless networks of different radio access technologies (radio access technology, RATs). In some implementations, transceiver 316 may be equipped with multiple antenna ports (not shown), e.g., four antenna ports. That is, transceiver 316 may be equipped with multiple transmit antennas and multiple receive antennas for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless communications. In some implementations, the network device 320 may also include a transceiver 326 coupled to the processor 322. Transceiver 326 may include a transceiver capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data. In some implementations, the transceiver 326 is capable of wireless communication with different types of UEs of different RATs. In some implementations, the transceiver 326 may be equipped with multiple antenna ports (not shown), such as four antenna ports. That is, the transceiver 326 may be equipped with multiple transmit antennas and multiple receive antennas for MIMO wireless communication.

In some implementations, the communication device 310 may also include a memory (or storage medium) 314, the memory 314 being coupled to the processor 312 and capable of being accessed by and storing data in the processor 312. In some implementations, the network device 320 may also include a memory (or storage medium) 324, the memory 324 being coupled to the processor 322 and capable of being accessed by and storing data in the processor 322. Each of memory 314 and memory 324 may include a type of random-access memory (RAM), such as dynamic RAM (DYNAMIC RAM, DRAM), static RAM (STATIC RAM, SRAM), thyristor RAM (T-RAM), and/or zero-capacitor RAM (Z-RAM). Alternatively or additionally, each of memory 314 and memory 324 may include a type of read-only memory (ROM), such as mask ROM, programmable ROM (PROM), erasable programmable ROM (erasable programmable ROM, EPROM), and/or electrically erasable programmable ROM (ELECTRICALLY ERASABLE PROGRAMMABLE ROM, EEPROM). Alternatively or additionally, each of memory 314 and memory 324 may include a type of non-volatile random-access memory (NVRAM), such as flash memory, solid-state memory, ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM), magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM), and/or phase-change memory.

In some embodiments, the memory (or storage medium) 314 or 324 may store program instructions that, when executed by the processor 312 or 322, may cause the processor 312 or 322 to perform the method for mobile communication of the present invention.

Each of the communication device 310 and the network device 320 may be communication entities capable of communicating with each other using various schemes proposed by the present invention. For purposes of illustration and not limitation, the capabilities of the communication device 310 as a UE and the network device 320 as a network node (e.g., BS) are described below.

Under some proposed schemes according to the present invention regarding supporting SDT on a BWP with an NCD-SSB, the processor 312 of the communication device 310 may receive a configuration from the network device 320 via the transceiver 316, wherein the configuration indicates one or more NCD-SSBs associated with the BWP for SDT. Processor 312 may then initiate an SDT process on the BWP according to the configuration. Accordingly, the processor 322 of the network device 320 may send a configuration to the communication device 310 via the transceiver 326, wherein the configuration indicates one or more NCD-SSBs associated with the BWP for the SDT. The processor 322 may then perform an SDT procedure with the communication device 310 over the BWP, wherein the SDT procedure is initiated from the communication device 310 according to the configuration.

In some embodiments, the receiving of the configuration may be performed in the event that the BWP does not include a CD-SSB.

In some implementations, the initiation of the SDT procedure can be performed in the event that the communication device 310 is operating in an RRC inactive state, an RRC idle state, or an RRC connected state.

In some implementations, the SDT procedure can include an RA-SDT procedure or a CG-SDT procedure.

In some embodiments, the configuration may be received via RRC signaling. Additionally or alternatively, RRC signaling may be UE-specific.

In some implementations, the processor 312 may also perform at least one of the following operations: maintaining TA alignment and TA timer verification for the SDT procedure based on the NCD-SSB; performing RSRP measurements based on the NCD-SSB to determine whether to perform the SDT procedure; and performing RSRP measurements based on the NCD-SSBs to determine which SSB to select for RA-SDT and CG-SDT.

In some embodiments, the BWP may be RedCap-specific BWP.

Exemplary processing

Fig. 4 illustrates an exemplary process 400 according to an embodiment of the invention. Process 400 may be an exemplary implementation of the scenario/scenario described above, some or all of which relate to supporting SDT on BWP with NCD-SSB. Process 400 may represent an aspect implementation of features of communication device 310. Process 400 may include one or more operations, actions, or functions illustrated by one or more blocks 410 and 420. Although illustrated as separate blocks, the various blocks of process 400 may be divided into additional blocks, combined into fewer blocks, or eliminated, depending on the desired implementation. Moreover, the blocks of process 400 may be performed in the order shown in FIG. 4, or may be performed in a different order. Process 400 may be implemented by communications apparatus 310, any suitable UE, or machine type device. The process 400 is described below in the context of the communication device 310, but this is merely illustrative and not limiting. Process 400 may begin at block 410.

At 410, process 400 may include: the processor 312 of the communication device 310 receives a configuration from the network device 320 via the transceiver 316, wherein the configuration indicates one or more NCD-SSBs associated with the BWP for the SDT. Process 400 may proceed from 410 to 420.

At 420, process 400 may include: the processor 312 initiates the SDT process on the BWP according to the configuration.

In some embodiments, the receiving of the configuration may be performed in the event that the BWP does not include a CD-SSB.

In some embodiments, the initiation of the SDT procedure may be performed in the event that the device is operating in an RRC inactive state, an RRC idle state, or an RRC connected state.

In some implementations, the SDT procedure can include an RA-SDT procedure or a CG-SDT procedure.

In some embodiments, the configuration may be received via RRC signaling. Additionally or alternatively, RRC signaling may be UE-specific.

In some implementations, the process 400 may further include the processor 312 performing at least one of the following: maintaining TA alignment and TA timer verification for the SDT procedure based on the NCD-SSB; performing RSRP measurements based on the NCD-SSB to determine whether to perform the SDT procedure; RSRP measurements are performed based on NCD-SSBs to determine which SSB to select for RA-SDT and CG-SDT.

In some embodiments, the BWP may be RedCap-specific BWP.

Fig. 5 illustrates an exemplary process 500 according to an embodiment of the invention. Process 500 may be an exemplary implementation of the scenario/scenario described above, some or all of which relate to supporting SDT on BWP with NCD-SSB. Process 500 may represent an aspect implementation of features of network device 320. Process 500 may include one or more operations, actions, or functions illustrated by one or more blocks 510 and 520. Although illustrated as separate blocks, the various blocks of process 500 may be divided into additional blocks, combined into fewer blocks, or eliminated, depending on the desired implementation. Moreover, the blocks of process 500 may be performed in the order shown in FIG. 5, or may be performed in a different order. Process 500 may be implemented by network device 320 and any variations thereof. Process 500 is described below in the context of network device 320, but this is merely illustrative and not limiting. Process 500 may begin at block 510.

At 510, process 500 may include: the processor 322 of the network device 320 sends a configuration to the communication device 310 via the transceiver 326, wherein the configuration indicates one or more NCD-SSBs associated with the BWP for the SDT. Process 500 may proceed from 510 to 520.

At 520, process 500 may include: the processor 322 performs an SDT procedure with the communication device 310 on the BWP, wherein the SDT procedure is initiated from the communication device 310 according to the configuration.

In some embodiments, the sending of the configuration may be performed in the event that the BWP does not include a CD-SSB.

In some implementations, the SDT procedure can be initiated in the event that the communication device 310 is operating in an RRC inactive state, an RRC idle state, or an RRC connected state.

In some implementations, the SDT procedure can include an RA-SDT procedure or a CG-SDT procedure.

In some embodiments, the configuration may be sent via RRC signaling. Additionally or alternatively, RRC signaling may be UE-specific.

In some embodiments, the BWP may be RedCap-specific BWP.

Additional description

The subject matter described in this specification sometimes illustrates different components contained within, or connected to, different other components. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures are merely exemplary, and that in fact other architectures can be implemented which achieve the same functionality. Conceptually, any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality is effectively "associated" such that the desired functionality is achieved. Thus, any two components herein combined to achieve a particular functionality can be seen as "associated with" each other such that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective of architectures or intermedial components. Likewise, any two components so associated can also be viewed as being "operably connected," or "operably coupled," to each other to achieve the desired functionality, and any two components capable of being so associated can also be viewed as being "operably couplable," to each other to achieve the desired functionality. Specific examples of operably couplable include, but are not limited to, physically mateable and/or physically interactable components and/or wirelessly interactable components and/or logically interactable components.

Furthermore, with respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singular terms in the present invention, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and/or application. For clarity, the present invention may explicitly set forth various singular/plural permutations.

Furthermore, it will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially those used in the claims (e.g., bodies of the claims), are often intended as "open" terms, such as the term "comprising" should be interpreted as "including but not limited to," the term "having" should be interpreted as "having at least," the term "comprising" should be interpreted as "including but not limited to," and so forth. It will be further understood by those with skill in the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, to aid in understanding, the claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases "at least one" and "one or more" to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles "a" or "an" limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to embodiments containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases "one or more" or "at least one" and indefinite articles such as "a" or "an" (e.g., "a" and/or "an" should be interpreted to mean "at least one" or "one or more"); the same holds true for the use of definite articles leading to claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of "two recitations," without other modifiers, means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Further, in instances where a convention analogous to "at least one of A, B and C, etc." is used, such a construction is generally intended to express the meaning of the convention understood by one skilled in the art, such as "a system having at least one of A, B and C" would include, but not be limited to, a system having only a, only B, only C, a and B, a and C, B and C, and/or A, B and C, etc. In instances where a convention analogous to "at least one of A, B or C, etc." is used, such a construction is generally intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention such as "a system having at least one of A, B or C" would include, but not be limited to, systems having a alone, B alone, C alone, a and B together, a and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B and C together, etc. It should also be appreciated by those skilled in the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternatives, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to include the possibility of one, either, or both. For example, the term "a or B" should be understood to include the possibilities of "a" or "B" or "a and B".

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that various embodiments of the invention have been described herein for purposes of illustration, and that various modifications may be made without deviating from the scope and spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the various embodiments disclosed herein are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.

Claims (22)

1. A method for mobile communications, comprising:

Receiving, by a processor of an apparatus, a configuration from a wireless node of a wireless network, wherein the configuration indicates one or more non-cell definition synchronization signal blocks associated with a portion of bandwidth for small data transmissions; and

Initiating, by the processor, a small data transfer process on the bandwidth portion according to the configuration.

2. The method for mobile communication according to claim 1, wherein the receiving of the configuration is performed in the event that the bandwidth portion does not include a cell definition synchronization signal block.

3. The method for mobile communication according to claim 1, wherein the initiation of the small data transmission procedure is performed in the event that the apparatus operates in a radio resource control inactive state, a radio resource control idle state or a radio resource control connected state.

4. The method for mobile communication according to claim 1, wherein the small data transmission procedure comprises a random access small data transmission procedure or a configured grant small data transmission procedure.

5. The method for mobile communication of claim 1, wherein the configuration is received via radio resource control signaling.

6. The method for mobile communication as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bandwidth part is a capacity reduction specific bandwidth part.

7. The method for mobile communication of claim 1, further comprising at least one of:

Maintaining, by the processor, timing advance alignment and timing advance timer verification for the small data transmission process based on the non-cell defined synchronization signal block;

performing, by the processor, reference signal received power measurements based on the non-cell defined synchronization signal block to determine whether to perform the small data transmission procedure; and

Reference signal received power measurements are performed by the processor based on the non-cell defined synchronization signal blocks to determine which synchronization signal block to select for random access small data transmissions and configured licensed small data transmissions.

8. An apparatus for mobile communication, comprising:

a transceiver in wireless communication with a network node of a wireless network; and

A processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver, the processor performing the operations of:

Receiving, via the transceiver, a configuration from the network node, wherein the configuration indicates one or more non-cell definition synchronization signal blocks associated with a portion of bandwidth for small data transmissions; and

And initiating a small data transmission process on the bandwidth part according to the configuration.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the receiving of the configuration is performed in the event that the bandwidth portion does not include a cell definition synchronization signal block.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the initiation of the small data transmission procedure is performed in the event that the apparatus operates in a radio resource control inactive state, a radio resource control idle state, or a radio resource control connected state.

11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the small data transmission procedure comprises a random access small data transmission procedure or a configured grant small data transmission procedure.

12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the configuration is received via radio resource control signaling.

13. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the bandwidth portion is a capacity reduction specific bandwidth portion.

14. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the processor further performs at least one of:

Maintaining timing advance alignment and timing advance timer verification for the small data transmission process based on the non-cell defined synchronization signal block;

Performing, via the transceiver, reference signal received power measurements based on the non-cell defined synchronization signal block to determine whether to perform the small data transmission procedure; and

Reference signal received power measurements are performed via the transceiver based on the non-cell defined synchronization signal blocks to determine which synchronization signal block to select for random access small data transmissions and configured licensed small data transmissions.

15. A method for mobile communications, comprising:

Transmitting, by a processor of a wireless node, a configuration to an apparatus, wherein the configuration indicates one or more non-cell definition synchronization signal blocks associated with a portion of bandwidth for small data transmissions; and

A small data transfer process is performed by the processor with the apparatus over the portion of bandwidth, wherein the small data transfer process is initiated from the apparatus according to the configuration.

16. The method for mobile communication according to claim 15, wherein the transmitting of the configuration is performed in the event that the bandwidth portion does not include a cell definition synchronization signal block.

17. The method for mobile communication of claim 15, wherein the small data transmission procedure is initiated in the event that the apparatus operates in a radio resource control inactive state, a radio resource control idle state, or a radio resource control connected state.

18. The method for mobile communication of claim 15, wherein the small data transmission procedure comprises a random access small data transmission procedure or a configured grant small data transmission procedure.

19. The method for mobile communication of claim 15, wherein the configuration is sent via radio resource control signaling.

20. The method for mobile communication of claim 15, wherein the bandwidth portion is a capacity reduction specific bandwidth portion.

21. A wireless node for mobile communications, comprising:

A processor, which when executing program instructions stored in a memory, performs the method for mobile communication according to any of claims 15-20.

22. A memory storing program instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the method for mobile communications of any of claims 1-7, 15-20.