WO2020073167A1

WO2020073167A1 - Idle mode feedback for uplink resource release

Info

Publication number: WO2020073167A1
Application number: PCT/CN2018/109340
Authority: WO
Inventors: Qiaoyu Li; Chao Wei; Hao Xu
Original assignee: Qualcomm Incorporated
Priority date: 2018-10-08
Filing date: 2018-10-08
Publication date: 2020-04-16

Abstract

Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communications are described. A user equipment (UE) may receive, in a radio resource control connected mode, one or more indicators for a configuration of a first uplink resource to transmit data and a second uplink resource to transmit feedback. The UE may receive, in a radio resource control idle mode, a resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource. The UE may transmit, in the radio resource control idle mode, a feedback message in response to the resource release message. A base station may receive the feedback message and release the configured resources.

Description

IDLE MODE FEEDBACK FOR UPLINK RESOURCE RELEASE

BACKGROUND

The following relates generally to wireless communications, and more specifically to idle mode feedback for uplink resource release.

Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power) . Examples of such multiple-access systems include fourth generation (4G) systems such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, or LTE-A Pro systems, and fifth generation (5G) systems which may be referred to as New Radio (NR) systems. These systems may employ technologies such as code division multiple access (CDMA) , time division multiple access (TDMA) , frequency division multiple access (FDMA) , orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) , or discrete Fourier transform-spread-OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM) . A wireless multiple-access communications system may include a number of base stations or network access nodes, each simultaneously supporting communication for multiple communication devices, which may be otherwise known as user equipment (UE) .

A UE may be configured by a base station with an uplink resource, and the UE can use the resource to transmit data while in an RRC idle mode. If the base station is to release the configured resources, the base station may transmit an indication that the resources are being released. Current techniques for communicating the resource release procedure are inefficient and have many shortcomings.

SUMMARY

The described techniques relate to improved methods, systems, devices, and apparatuses that support idle mode feedback for uplink resource release. Generally, the described techniques provide for radio resource control (RRC) idle mode feedback in response to a resource release message. Some wireless communications systems may support a user equipment (UE) transmitting uplink data while having an RRC idle mode associated with a base station. The base station may configure resources while the UE is in an RRC connected mode, and the UE may use the configured resources to transmit uplink data while in the RRC idle mode. At some point when the UE is in the RRC idle mode, the base station may release the preconfigured uplink resource. The base station may have configured the UE with both a resource for transmitting uplink data and a resource for transmitting feedback in response to a resource release request. Thus, the UE may be able to provide feedback for a resource release request while staying in the RRC idle mode.

The feedback resource may be linked to the resource release message. In some cases, the feedback resource may be based on the time-frequency resources used to transmit the resource release message. In some cases, resources after a time-domain offset from the resource release message may be configured as a feedback resource. In some cases, if the feedback resource is later than a next configured transmission occasion for transmitting the uplink data, the UE may use the transmission occasion for transmitting the uplink data to transmit the feedback message. The feedback resource may additionally, or alternatively, be based on one or more of a preamble associated with an identifier of the UE, an uplink shared, an uplink control channel.

If the base station receives a feedback message containing an acknowledgment corresponding to the resource release message, the base station may determine that the preconfigured uplink resources for the UE can be released. In some cases, the base station may reconfigure the released resource to be used for other UEs. If the base station does not receive a feedback message containing an acknowledgment corresponding to the resource release message, the base station may determine that the UE did not successfully receive the resource release message. In some cases, the base station may transmit an additional resource release message to the UE. In another example, the base station may stop the resource release message transmission and let the UE continue to use the configured uplink resources.

A method of wireless communication at a UE is described. The method may include receiving, in a radio resource control connected mode, one or more indicators for a configuration of a first uplink resource to transmit data and a second uplink resource to transmit feedback, receiving, in a radio resource control idle mode, a resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource, and transmitting, in the radio resource control idle mode, a feedback message in response to the resource release message.

An apparatus for wireless communication at a UE is described. The apparatus may include a processor, memory in electronic communication with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions may be executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to receive, in a radio resource control connected mode, one or more indicators for a configuration of a first uplink resource to transmit data and a second uplink resource to transmit feedback, receive, in a radio resource control idle mode, a resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource, and transmit, in the radio resource control idle mode, a feedback message in response to the resource release message.

Another apparatus for wireless communication at a UE is described. The apparatus may include means for receiving, in a radio resource control connected mode, one or more indicators for a configuration of a first uplink resource to transmit data and a second uplink resource to transmit feedback, receiving, in a radio resource control idle mode, a resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource, and transmitting, in the radio resource control idle mode, a feedback message in response to the resource release message.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a UE is described. The code may include instructions executable by a processor to receive, in a radio resource control connected mode, one or more indicators for a configuration of a first uplink resource to transmit data and a second uplink resource to transmit feedback, receive, in a radio resource control idle mode, a resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource, and transmit, in the radio resource control idle mode, a feedback message in response to the resource release message.

In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, transmitting the feedback message may include operations, features, means, or instructions for transmitting the feedback message using the second uplink resource.

In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, transmitting the feedback message may include operations, features, means, or instructions for identifying a first transmission opportunity for the first uplink resource which precedes a second transmission opportunity for the second uplink resource and transmitting the feedback message on the first uplink resource during the first transmission opportunity.

Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for determining the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource may have been released based on transmitting the feedback message.

Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for identifying the second uplink resource based on one or more of a time-frequency resource associated with the resource release message, a preamble, an uplink shared channel, or an uplink control channel.

In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the preamble may be associated with an identifier of the UE.

In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the resource release message may be received based on a paging procedure.

Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for identifying a transmit opportunity for the feedback message based on a time-domain offset from the received resource release message.

A method of wireless communication at a base station is described. The method may include transmitting, to a UE in a radio resource control connected mode, one or more indicators for a configuration of a first uplink resource for data and a second uplink resource for feedback, transmitting, to the UE in a radio resource control idle mode, a resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource, and monitoring for a feedback message from the UE in the radio resource control idle mode based on the resource release message.

An apparatus for wireless communication at a base station is described. The apparatus may include a processor, memory in electronic communication with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions may be executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to transmit, to a UE in a radio resource control connected mode, one or more indicators for a configuration of a first uplink resource for data and a second uplink resource for feedback, transmit, to the UE in a radio resource control idle mode, a resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource, and monitor for a feedback message from the UE in the radio resource control idle mode based on the resource release message.

Another apparatus for wireless communication at a base station is described. The apparatus may include means for transmitting, to a UE in a radio resource control connected mode, one or more indicators for a configuration of a first uplink resource for data and a second uplink resource for feedback, transmitting, to the UE in a radio resource control idle mode, a resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource, and monitoring for a feedback message from the UE in the radio resource control idle mode based on the resource release message.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a base station is described. The code may include instructions executable by a processor to transmit, to a UE in a radio resource control connected mode, one or more indicators for a configuration of a first uplink resource for data and a second uplink resource for feedback, transmit, to the UE in a radio resource control idle mode, a resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource, and monitor for a feedback message from the UE in the radio resource control idle mode based on the resource release message.

Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving the feedback message on the second uplink resource and releasing the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource based on the received feedback message.

Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for identifying a first transmission opportunity for the first uplink resource which precedes a second transmission opportunity for the second uplink resource, receiving the feedback message on the first uplink resource during the first transmission opportunity and releasing the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource based on the received feedback message.

Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving the feedback message from the UE in the radio resource control idle mode and releasing the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource based on the received feedback message.

Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for determining, after a time period of the monitoring, that the feedback message may have not been transmitted and transmitting, to the UE in the radio resource control idle mode, an additional resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource.

Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for determining, after a time period of the monitoring, that the feedback message may have not been transmitted and refraining from transmitting, to the UE in the radio resource control idle mode, an additional resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource.

Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for indicating the second uplink resource based on one or more of a time-frequency resource associated with the resource release message, a preamble, an uplink shared channel, or an uplink control channel.

In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the resource release message transmitted based on a paging procedure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a system for wireless communications that supports idle mode feedback for uplink resource release in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a wireless communications system that supports idle mode feedback for uplink resource release in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a process flow that supports idle mode feedback for uplink resource release in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGs. 4 and 5 show block diagrams of devices that support idle mode feedback for uplink resource release in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of a communications manager that supports idle mode feedback for uplink resource release in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 shows a diagram of a system including a device that supports idle mode feedback for uplink resource release in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGs. 8 and 9 show block diagrams of devices that support idle mode feedback for uplink resource release in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 shows a block diagram of a communications manager that supports idle mode feedback for uplink resource release in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 shows a diagram of a system including a device that supports idle mode feedback for uplink resource release in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGs. 12 through 18 show flowcharts illustrating methods that support idle mode feedback for uplink resource release in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Some wireless communications systems may support a user equipment (UE) to transmit uplink data while having an radio resource control (RRC) mode associated with a base station. The base station may configure resources while the UE is in an RRC connected mode, and the UE may use the configured resources to transmit uplink data while in the RRC idle mode. At some point, the base station may release the preconfigured uplink resource. In some wireless communications systems, the base station may transition the UE back into the RRC connected mode and release the uplink resource using RRC signaling. In another example, the base station may transmit a resource release message to the UE (e.g., using a paging procedure) while keeping the UE in RRC idle mode. The first technique for releasing the configured resources in RRC connected mode may lead to a significant delay in the resources getting released and large control signaling overhead. The second technique for releasing the configured resources in RRC idle mode may have a shorter delay to releasing the configured resources, but may cause transmission collisions if the base station does not have a way of verifying receipt of the resource release message, since transmitting to the UE while keeping the UE in RRC idle mode (e.g., using a procedure) does not support feedback from the UE to the base station. Therefore, a UE and a base station described herein may implement techniques for a UE to provide feedback for a resource release message while the UE is in an RRC idle mode.

The resource release message may be linked to a feedback resource, such that the UE may transmit the feedback message while operating in the RRC idle mode. For example, the base station may configure the UE with a resource for transmitting the uplink data and a resource for transmitting the feedback message. The feedback resource may be configured with the uplink resource for the uplink data. For example, both of the resources may be configured by RRC signaling while the UE is in the RRC connected mode. In some cases, the feedback resource may be based on the time-frequency resources used to transmit the resource release message. In some cases, resources after a time-domain offset from the resource release message may be configured as a feedback resource. In some cases, if the feedback resource is later than a next configured transmission occasion for transmitting the uplink data, the UE may use the transmission occasion for transmitting the uplink data to transmit the feedback message. The feedback resource may additionally, or alternatively, be based on one or more of a preamble associated with an identifier of the UE, an uplink shared, an uplink control channel.

If the base station receives a feedback message containing an acknowledgment (ACK) corresponding to the resource release message, the base station may determine that the preconfigured uplink resources for the UE can be released. For example, the base station may release the data resource. In some cases, the base station may reconfigure the released resource to be used for other UEs. If the base station does not receive a feedback message containing an ACK corresponding to the resource release message, the base station may determine that the UE did not successfully receive the resource release message. Based on this determination, the base station may, in a first example, transmit an additional resource release message to the UE. In a second example, the base station may stop the resource release message transmission and let the UE continue to use the configured uplink resources.

Aspects of the disclosure are initially described in the context of a wireless communications system. Aspects of the disclosure are further illustrated by and described with reference to apparatus diagrams, system diagrams, and flowcharts that relate to RRC idle mode feedback for uplink resource release.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communications system 100 that supports idle mode feedback for uplink resource release in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communications system 100 includes base stations 105, UEs 115, and a core network 130. In some examples, the wireless communications system 100 may be a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, an LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) network, an LTE-A Pro network, or a New Radio (NR) network. In some cases, wireless communications system 100 may support enhanced broadband communications, ultra-reliable (e.g., mission critical) communications, low latency communications, or communications with low-cost and low-complexity devices.

Base stations 105 may wirelessly communicate with UEs 115 via one or more base station antennas. Base stations 105 described herein may include or may be referred to by those skilled in the art as a base transceiver station, a radio base station, an access point, a radio transceiver, a NodeB, an eNodeB (eNB) , a next-generation Node B or giga-nodeB (either of which may be referred to as a gNB) , a Home NodeB, a Home eNodeB, or some other suitable terminology. Wireless communications system 100 may include base stations 105 of different types (e.g., macro or small cell base stations) . The UEs 115 described herein may be able to communicate with various types of base stations 105 and network equipment including macro eNBs, small cell eNBs, gNBs, relay base stations, and the like.

Each base station 105 may be associated with a particular geographic coverage area 110 in which communications with various UEs 115 is supported. Each base station 105 may provide communication coverage for a respective geographic coverage area 110 via communication links 125, and communication links 125 between a base station 105 and a UE 115 may utilize one or more carriers. Communication links 125 shown in wireless communications system 100 may include uplink transmissions from a UE 115 to a base station 105, or downlink transmissions from a base station 105 to a UE 115. Downlink transmissions may also be called forward link transmissions while uplink transmissions may also be called reverse link transmissions.

The geographic coverage area 110 for a base station 105 may be divided into sectors making up only a portion of the geographic coverage area 110, and each sector may be associated with a cell. For example, each base station 105 may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a small cell, a hot spot, or other types of cells, or various combinations thereof. In some examples, a base station 105 may be movable and therefore provide communication coverage for a moving geographic coverage area 110. In some examples, different geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may overlap, and overlapping geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may be supported by the same base station 105 or by different base stations 105. The wireless communications system 100 may include, for example, a heterogeneous LTE/LTE-A/LTE-A Pro or NR network in which different types of base stations 105 provide coverage for various geographic coverage areas 110.

The term “cell” refers to a logical communication entity used for communication with a base station 105 (e.g., over a carrier) , and may be associated with an identifier for distinguishing neighboring cells (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCID) , a virtual cell identifier (VCID) ) operating via the same or a different carrier. In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine-type communication (MTC) /enhanced MTC (eMTC) , narrowband Internet-of-Things (NB-IoT) , enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) , or others) that may provide access for different types of devices. In some cases, the term “cell” may refer to a portion of a geographic coverage area 110 (e.g., a sector) over which the logical entity operates.

UEs 115 may be dispersed throughout the wireless communications system 100, and each UE 115 may be stationary or mobile. A UE 115 may also be referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a handheld device, or a subscriber device, or some other suitable terminology, where the “device” may also be referred to as a unit, a station, a terminal, or a client. A UE 115 may also be a personal electronic device such as a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA) , a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a personal computer. In some examples, a UE 115 may also refer to a wireless local loop (WLL) station, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an Internet of Everything (IoE) device, or an MTC device, or the like, which may be implemented in various articles such as appliances, vehicles, meters, or the like.

Some UEs 115, such as MTC or IoT devices, may be low cost or low complexity devices, and may provide for automated communication between machines (e.g., via Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication) . M2M communication or MTC may refer to data communication technologies that allow devices to communicate with one another or a base station 105 without human intervention. In some examples, M2M communication or MTC may include communications from devices that integrate sensors or meters to measure or capture information and relay that information to a central server or application program that can make use of the information or present the information to humans interacting with the program or application. Some UEs 115 may be designed to collect information or enable automated behavior of machines. Examples of applications for MTC devices include smart metering, robotics/autonomous driving/aviation, artificial intelligence, augmented/virtual reality, inventory monitoring, water level monitoring, equipment monitoring, healthcare monitoring, wildlife monitoring, weather and geological event monitoring, fleet management and tracking, remote security sensing, physical access control, and transaction-based business charging.

Some UEs 115 may be configured to employ operating modes that reduce power consumption, such as half-duplex communications (e.g., a mode that supports one-way communication via transmission or reception, but not transmission and reception simultaneously) . In some examples half-duplex communications may be performed at a reduced peak rate. Other power conservation techniques for UEs 115 include entering a power saving “deep sleep” mode when not engaging in active communications, or operating over a limited bandwidth (e.g., according to narrowband communications) . In some cases, UEs 115 may be designed to support critical functions (e.g., mission critical functions) , and a wireless communications system 100 may be configured to provide ultra-reliable communications for these functions.

In some cases, a UE 115 may also be able to communicate directly with other UEs 115 (e.g., using a peer-to-peer (P2P) or device-to-device (D2D) protocol) . One or more of a group of UEs 115 utilizing D2D communications may be within the geographic coverage area 110 of a base station 105. Other UEs 115 in such a group may be outside the geographic coverage area 110 of a base station 105, or be otherwise unable to receive transmissions from a base station 105. In some cases, groups of UEs 115 communicating via D2D communications may utilize a one-to-many (1∶M) system in which each UE 115 transmits to every other UE 115 in the group. In some cases, a base station 105 facilitates the scheduling of resources for D2D communications. In other cases, D2D communications are carried out between UEs 115 without the involvement of a base station 105.

Base stations 105 may communicate with the core network 130 and with one another. For example, base stations 105 may interface with the core network 130 through backhaul links 132 (e.g., via an S1, N2, N3, or another interface) . Base stations 105 may communicate with one another over backhaul links 134 (e.g., via an X2, Xn, or other interface) either directly (e.g., directly between base stations 105) or indirectly (e.g., via core network 130) .

The core network 130 may provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The core network 130 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) , which may include at least one mobility management entity (MME) , at least one serving gateway (S-GW) , and at least one Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway (P-GW) . The MME may manage non-access stratum (e.g., control plane) functions such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management for UEs 115 served by base stations 105 associated with the EPC. User IP packets may be transferred through the S-GW, which itself may be connected to the P-GW. The P-GW may provide IP address allocation as well as other functions. The P-GW may be connected to the network operators IP services. The operators IP services may include access to the Internet, Intranet (s) , an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) , or a Packet-Switched (PS) Streaming Service.

At least some of the network devices, such as a base station 105, may include subcomponents such as an access network entity, which may be an example of an access node controller (ANC) . Each access network entity may communicate with UEs 115 through a number of other access network transmission entities, which may be referred to as a radio head, a smart radio head, or a transmission/reception point (TRP) . In some configurations, various functions of each access network entity or base station 105 may be distributed across various network devices (e.g., radio heads and access network controllers) or consolidated into a single network device (e.g., a base station 105) .

Wireless communications system 100 may operate using one or more frequency bands, typically in the range of 300 MHz to 300 GHz. Generally, the region from 300 MHz to 3 GHz is known as the ultra-high frequency (UHF) region or decimeter band, since the wavelengths range from approximately one decimeter to one meter in length. UHF waves may be blocked or redirected by buildings and environmental features. However, the waves may penetrate structures sufficiently for a macro cell to provide service to UEs 115 located indoors. Transmission of UHF waves may be associated with smaller antennas and shorter range (e.g., less than 100 km) compared to transmission using the smaller frequencies and longer waves of the high frequency (HF) or very high frequency (VHF) portion of the spectrum below 300 MHz.

Wireless communications system 100 may also operate in a super high frequency (SHF) region using frequency bands from 3 GHz to 30 GHz, also known as the centimeter band. The SHF region includes bands such as the 5 GHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) bands, which may be used opportunistically by devices that can tolerate interference from other users.

Wireless communications system 100 may also operate in an extremely high frequency (EHF) region of the spectrum (e.g., from 30 GHz to 300 GHz) , also known as the millimeter band. In some examples, wireless communications system 100 may support millimeter wave (mmW) communications between UEs 115 and base stations 105, and EHF antennas of the respective devices may be even smaller and more closely spaced than UHF antennas. In some cases, this may facilitate use of antenna arrays within a UE 115. However, the propagation of EHF transmissions may be subject to even greater atmospheric attenuation and shorter range than SHF or UHF transmissions. Techniques disclosed herein may be employed across transmissions that use one or more different frequency regions, and designated use of bands across these frequency regions may differ by country or regulating body.

In some cases, wireless communications system 100 may utilize both licensed and unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands. For example, wireless communications system 100 may employ License Assisted Access (LAA) , LTE-Unlicensed (LTE-U) radio access technology, or NR technology in an unlicensed band such as the 5 GHz ISM band. When operating in unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands, wireless devices such as base stations 105 and UEs 115 may employ listen-before-talk (LBT) procedures to ensure a frequency channel is clear before transmitting data. In some cases, operations in unlicensed bands may be based on a CA configuration in conjunction with CCs operating in a licensed band (e.g., LAA) . Operations in unlicensed spectrum may include downlink transmissions, uplink transmissions, peer-to-peer transmissions, or a combination of these. Duplexing in unlicensed spectrum may be based on frequency division duplexing (FDD) , time division duplexing (TDD) , or a combination of both.

In some examples, base station 105 or UE 115 may be equipped with multiple antennas, which may be used to employ techniques such as transmit diversity, receive diversity, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications, or beamforming. For example, wireless communications system 100 may use a transmission scheme between a transmitting device (e.g., a base station 105) and a receiving device (e.g., a UE 115) , where the transmitting device is equipped with multiple antennas and the receiving devices are equipped with one or more antennas. MIMO communications may employ multipath signal propagation to increase the spectral efficiency by transmitting or receiving multiple signals via different spatial layers, which may be referred to as spatial multiplexing. The multiple signals may, for example, be transmitted by the transmitting device via different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Likewise, the multiple signals may be received by the receiving device via different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Each of the multiple signals may be referred to as a separate spatial stream, and may carry bits associated with the same data stream (e.g., the same codeword) or different data streams. Different spatial layers may be associated with different antenna ports used for channel measurement and reporting. MIMO techniques include single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO) where multiple spatial layers are transmitted to the same receiving device, and multiple-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) where multiple spatial layers are transmitted to multiple devices.

Beamforming, which may also be referred to as spatial filtering, directional transmission, or directional reception, is a signal processing technique that may be used at a transmitting device or a receiving device (e.g., a base station 105 or a UE 115) to shape or steer an antenna beam (e.g., a transmit beam or receive beam) along a spatial path between the transmitting device and the receiving device. Beamforming may be achieved by combining the signals communicated via antenna elements of an antenna array such that signals propagating at particular orientations with respect to an antenna array experience constructive interference while others experience destructive interference. The adjustment of signals communicated via the antenna elements may include a transmitting device or a receiving device applying certain amplitude and phase offsets to signals carried via each of the antenna elements associated with the device. The adjustments associated with each of the antenna elements may be defined by a beamforming weight set associated with a particular orientation (e.g., with respect to the antenna array of the transmitting device or receiving device, or with respect to some other orientation) .

In one example, a base station 105 may use multiple antennas or antenna arrays to conduct beamforming operations for directional communications with a UE 115. For instance, some signals (e.g., synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) may be transmitted by a base station 105 multiple times in different directions, which may include a signal being transmitted according to different beamforming weight sets associated with different directions of transmission. Transmissions in different beam directions may be used to identify (e.g., by the base station 105 or a receiving device, such as a UE 115) a beam direction for subsequent transmission and/or reception by the base station 105. Some signals, such as data signals associated with a particular receiving device, may be transmitted by a base station 105 in a single beam direction (e.g., a direction associated with the receiving device, such as a UE 115) . In some examples, the beam direction associated with transmissions along a single beam direction may be determined based at least in in part on a signal that was transmitted in different beam directions. For example, a UE 115 may receive one or more of the signals transmitted by the base station 105 in different directions, and the UE 115 may report to the base station 105 an indication of the signal it received with a highest signal quality, or an otherwise acceptable signal quality. Although these techniques are described with reference to signals transmitted in one or more directions by a base station 105, a UE 115 may employ similar techniques for transmitting signals multiple times in different directions (e.g., for identifying a beam direction for subsequent transmission or reception by the UE 115) , or transmitting a signal in a single direction (e.g., for transmitting data to a receiving device) .

A receiving device (e.g., a UE 115, which may be an example of a mmW receiving device) may try multiple receive beams when receiving various signals from the base station 105, such as synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals. For example, a receiving device may try multiple receive directions by receiving via different antenna subarrays, by processing received signals according to different antenna subarrays, by receiving according to different receive beamforming weight sets applied to signals received at a plurality of antenna elements of an antenna array, or by processing received signals according to different receive beamforming weight sets applied to signals received at a plurality of antenna elements of an antenna array, any of which may be referred to as “listening” according to different receive beams or receive directions. In some examples a receiving device may use a single receive beam to receive along a single beam direction (e.g., when receiving a data signal) . The single receive beam may be aligned in a beam direction determined based at least in part on listening according to different receive beam directions (e.g., a beam direction determined to have a highest signal strength, highest signal-to-noise ratio, or otherwise acceptable signal quality based at least in part on listening according to multiple beam directions) .

In some cases, the antennas of a base station 105 or UE 115 may be located within one or more antenna arrays, which may support MIMO operations, or transmit or receive beamforming. For example, one or more base station antennas or antenna arrays may be co-located at an antenna assembly, such as an antenna tower. In some cases, antennas or antenna arrays associated with a base station 105 may be located in diverse geographic locations. A base station 105 may have an antenna array with a number of rows and columns of antenna ports that the base station 105 may use to support beamforming of communications with a UE 115. Likewise, a UE 115 may have one or more antenna arrays that may support various MIMO or beamforming operations.

In some cases, wireless communications system 100 may be a packet-based network that operate according to a layered protocol stack. In the user plane, communications at the bearer or Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer may be IP-based. A Radio Link Control (RLC) layer may in some cases perform packet segmentation and reassembly to communicate over logical channels. A Medium Access Control (MAC) layer may perform priority handling and multiplexing of logical channels into transport channels. The MAC layer may also use hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) to provide retransmission at the MAC layer to improve link efficiency. In the control plane, the Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol layer may provide establishment, configuration, and maintenance of an RRC connection between a UE 115 and a base station 105 or core network 130 supporting radio bearers for user plane data. At the Physical (PHY) layer, transport channels may be mapped to physical channels.

In some cases, UEs 115 and base stations 105 may support retransmissions of data to increase the likelihood that data is received successfully. HARQ feedback is one technique of increasing the likelihood that data is received correctly over a communication link 125. HARQ may include a combination of error detection (e.g., using a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) ) , forward error correction (FEC) , and retransmission (e.g., automatic repeat request (ARQ) ) . HARQ may improve throughput at the MAC layer in poor radio conditions (e.g., signal-to-noise conditions) . In some cases, a wireless device may support same-slot HARQ feedback, where the device may provide HARQ feedback in a specific slot for data received in a previous symbol in the slot. In other cases, the device may provide HARQ feedback in a subsequent slot, or according to some other time interval.

Time intervals in LTE or NR may be expressed in multiples of a basic time unit, which may, for example, refer to a sampling period of T _s = 1/30,720,000 seconds. Time intervals of a communications resource may be organized according to radio frames each having a duration of 10 milliseconds (ms) , where the frame period may be expressed as T _f = 307,200 T _s. The radio frames may be identified by a system frame number (SFN) ranging from 0 to 1023. Each frame may include 10 subframes numbered from 0 to 9, and each subframe may have a duration of 1 ms. A subframe may be further divided into 2 slots each having a duration of 0.5 ms, and each slot may contain 6 or 7 modulation symbol periods (e.g., depending on the length of the cyclic prefix prepended to each symbol period) . Excluding the cyclic prefix, each symbol period may contain 2048 sampling periods. In some cases, a subframe may be the smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communications system 100, and may be referred to as a transmission time interval (TTI) . In other cases, a smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communications system 100 may be shorter than a subframe or may be dynamically selected (e.g., in bursts of shortened TTIs (sTTIs) or in selected component carriers using sTTIs) .

In some wireless communications systems, a slot may further be divided into multiple mini-slots containing one or more symbols. In some instances, a symbol of a mini-slot or a mini-slot may be the smallest unit of scheduling. Each symbol may vary in duration depending on the subcarrier spacing or frequency band of operation, for example. Further, some wireless communications systems may implement slot aggregation in which multiple slots or mini-slots are aggregated together and used for communication between a UE 115 and a base station 105.

The term “carrier” refers to a set of radio frequency spectrum resources having a defined physical layer structure for supporting communications over a communication link 125. For example, a carrier of a communication link 125 may include a portion of a radio frequency spectrum band that is operated according to physical layer channels for a given radio access technology. Each physical layer channel may carry user data, control information, or other signaling. A carrier may be associated with a pre-defined frequency channel (e.g., an E-UTRA absolute radio frequency channel number (EARFCN) ) , and may be positioned according to a channel raster for discovery by UEs 115. Carriers may be downlink or uplink (e.g., in an FDD mode) , or be configured to carry downlink and uplink communications (e.g., in a TDD mode) . In some examples, signal waveforms transmitted over a carrier may be made up of multiple sub-carriers (e.g., using multi-carrier modulation (MCM) techniques such as OFDM or DFT-s-OFDM) .

The organizational structure of the carriers may be different for different radio access technologies (e.g., LTE, LTE-A, LTE-APro, NR, etc. ) . For example, communications over a carrier may be organized according to TTIs or slots, each of which may include user data as well as control information or signaling to support decoding the user data. A carrier may also include dedicated acquisition signaling (e.g., synchronization signals or system information, etc. ) and control signaling that coordinates operation for the carrier. In some examples (e.g., in a carrier aggregation configuration) , a carrier may also have acquisition signaling or control signaling that coordinates operations for other carriers.

Physical channels may be multiplexed on a carrier according to various techniques. A physical control channel and a physical data channel may be multiplexed on a downlink carrier, for example, using time division multiplexing (TDM) techniques, frequency division multiplexing (FDM) techniques, or hybrid TDM-FDM techniques. In some examples, control information transmitted in a physical control channel may be distributed between different control regions in a cascaded manner (e.g., between a common control region or common search space and one or more UE-specific control regions or UE-specific search spaces) .

A carrier may be associated with a particular bandwidth of the radio frequency spectrum, and in some examples the carrier bandwidth may be referred to as a “system bandwidth” of the carrier or the wireless communications system 100. For example, the carrier bandwidth may be one of a number of predetermined bandwidths for carriers of a particular radio access technology (e.g., 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 40, or 80 MHz) . In some examples, each served UE 115 may be configured for operating over portions or all of the carrier bandwidth. In other examples, some UEs 115 may be configured for operation using a narrowband protocol type that is associated with a predefined portion or range (e.g., set of subcarriers or RBs) within a carrier (e.g., “in-band” deployment of a narrowband protocol type) .

In a system employing MCM techniques, a resource element may consist of one symbol period (e.g., a duration of one modulation symbol) and one subcarrier, where the symbol period and subcarrier spacing are inversely related. The number of bits carried by each resource element may depend on the modulation scheme (e.g., the order of the modulation scheme) . Thus, the more resource elements that a UE 115 receives and the higher the order of the modulation scheme, the higher the data rate may be for the UE 115. In MIMO systems, a wireless communications resource may refer to a combination of a radio frequency spectrum resource, a time resource, and a spatial resource (e.g., spatial layers) , and the use of multiple spatial layers may further increase the data rate for communications with a UE 115.

Devices of the wireless communications system 100 (e.g., base stations 105 or UEs 115) may have a hardware configuration that supports communications over a particular carrier bandwidth, or may be configurable to support communications over one of a set of carrier bandwidths. In some examples, the wireless communications system 100 may include base stations 105 and/or UEs 115 that can support simultaneous communications via carriers associated with more than one different carrier bandwidth.

Wireless communications system 100 may support communication with a UE 115 on multiple cells or carriers, a feature which may be referred to as carrier aggregation (CA) or multi-carrier operation. A UE 115 may be configured with multiple downlink CCs and one or more uplink CCs according to a carrier aggregation configuration. Carrier aggregation may be used with both FDD and TDD component carriers.

In some cases, wireless communications system 100 may utilize enhanced component carriers (eCCs) . An eCC may be characterized by one or more features including wider carrier or frequency channel bandwidth, shorter symbol duration, shorter TTI duration, or modified control channel configuration. In some cases, an eCC may be associated with a carrier aggregation configuration or a dual connectivity configuration (e.g., when multiple serving cells have a suboptimal or non-ideal backhaul link) . An eCC may also be configured for use in unlicensed spectrum or shared spectrum (e.g., where more than one operator is allowed to use the spectrum) . An eCC characterized by wide carrier bandwidth may include one or more segments that may be utilized by UEs 115 that are not capable of monitoring the whole carrier bandwidth or are otherwise configured to use a limited carrier bandwidth (e.g., to conserve power) .

In some cases, an eCC may utilize a different symbol duration than other CCs, which may include use of a reduced symbol duration as compared with symbol durations of the other CCs. A shorter symbol duration may be associated with increased spacing between adjacent subcarriers. A device, such as a UE 115 or base station 105, utilizing eCCs may transmit wideband signals (e.g., according to frequency channel or carrier bandwidths of 20, 40, 60, 80 MHz, etc. ) at reduced symbol durations (e.g., 16.67 microseconds) . A TTI in eCC may consist of one or multiple symbol periods. In some cases, the TTI duration (that is, the number of symbol periods in a TTI) may be variable.

Wireless communications systems such as an NR system may utilize any combination of licensed, shared, and unlicensed spectrum bands, among others. The flexibility of eCC symbol duration and subcarrier spacing may allow for the use of eCC across multiple spectrums. In some examples, NR shared spectrum may increase spectrum utilization and spectral efficiency, specifically through dynamic vertical (e.g., across the frequency domain) and horizontal (e.g., across the time domain) sharing of resources.

A base station 105 may configure resources while a UE 115 is in an RRC connected mode, and the UE 115 may use the configured resources to transmit uplink data while in the RRC idle mode. At some point when the UE 115 is in the RRC idle mode, the base station may release the preconfigured uplink resource. The base station 105 may have configured the UE 115 with both a resource for transmitting uplink data and a resource for transmitting feedback in response to a resource release request. Thus, the UE 115 may be able to provide feedback for a resource release request while staying in the RRC idle mode.

The feedback resource may be linked to the resource release message. In some cases, the feedback resource may be based on the time-frequency resources used to transmit the resource release message. In some cases, resources after a time-domain offset from the resource release message may be configured as a feedback resource. In some cases, if the feedback resource is later than a next configured transmission occasion for transmitting the uplink data, the UE 115 may piggy-back to use the transmission occasion for transmitting the uplink data to transmit the feedback message. The feedback resource may additionally, or alternatively, be based on one or more of a preamble associated with an identifier of the UE 115, an uplink shared, an uplink control channel.

If the base station 105 receives a feedback message containing an acknowledgment corresponding to the resource release message, the base station 105 may determine that the preconfigured uplink resources for the UE 115 can be released. In some cases, the base station 105 may reconfigure the released resource to be used for other UEs 115. If the base station 105 does not receive a feedback message containing an acknowledgment corresponding to the resource release message, the base station 105 may determine that the UE 115 did not successfully receive the resource release message. In some cases, the base station 105 may transmit an additional resource release message to the UE 115. In another example, the base station 105 may stop the resource release message transmission and let the UE 115 continue to use the configured uplink resources.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a wireless communications system 200 that supports idle mode feedback for uplink resource release in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, wireless communications system 200 may implement aspects of wireless communications system 100. Wireless communications system 200 may include UE 115-a and base station 105-a, which may be respective examples of a UE 115 and a base station 105 described herein.

Some wireless communications systems may support low power communications between a base station 105 and a UE 115. For example, the wireless communications system 200 may support IoT communications between a base station 105 and a UE 115. In some cases, the UE 115 may periodically transmit a small amount of data (e.g., every one or two hours) . Some examples of a UE 115 described herein may include a meter, a sensor, a phone, an appliance, or an automobile, among other examples of IoT devices or low power devices.

Some wireless communications systems may support a UE 115 to transmit uplink data while having an RRC idle mode associated with a base station 105. For example, the UE 115 may transmit uplink data while in an RRC idle mode (e.g., RRC_IDLE mode) . In some cases, the RRC idle mode may be referred to as just an idle mode. The base station 105 may configure an uplink resource for the RRC idle mode data transmissions when the UE 115 is in an RRC connected mode (e.g., RRC_CONNECT mode) . The base station 105 may configure the UE 115 with an uplink resource for data while the UE 115 is in the RRC connected mode, and the UE 115 may use the pre-configured resource to transmit the uplink data while in the RRC idle mode. In some cases, the base station 105 may configure different UEs 115 to use orthogonal resources. Generally, establishment of an RRC connection as well as uplink and downlink control information may resource consuming and introduce delay. Therefore, by supporting a UE 115 to transmit uplink data while in the RRC idle mode, the wireless communications system 200 may reduce some delay associated with establishing an RRC connection and going from an RRC idle mode to an RRC connected mode.

In some cases, the base station 105 may release the preconfigured uplink resource. In a conventional wireless communications system, the base station 105 may transition the UE 115 back into the RRC connected mode and release the uplink resource using RRC signaling. However, there may be a long delay between the base station 105 determining to free the resource and the resource being freed based on having to switch the UE 115 back to the RRC connected mode. In another example, the base station 105 may transmit a resource release message to the UE 115 using a paging procedure. The UE 115 may monitor for paging messages at paging occasions while in the RRC idle mode. In some cases, an identifier for the UE 115 (e.g., UE-ID) may be used for the resource release. However, the paging-based resource release scheme of the conventional wireless communications system may not support the UE 115 providing ACK/NACK feedback without transitioning the UE 115 back into RRC connected mode. If no feedback is considered in association to the resource release message, the UE 115 may fail to detect the resource release message (e.g., based on bad link quality of the paging message) . Then, the UE 115 may continue to transmit uplink data using the previously configured uplink resource. This may cause conflicts if the base station 105 configures that resource to other UEs 115, as the network may consider that uplink resource as having been already released.

The wireless communications system 200, as well as wireless communications systems and wireless devices described herein, may implement techniques for a UE 115 to provide feedback to a resource release message while the UE 115 is in an RRC idle mode. For example, base station 105-a and UE 115-a may implement techniques for UE 115-ato transmit a feedback message 230 in response to a resource release message 225 while keeping UE 115-ain an RRC idle mode 215.

The resource release message 225 may be linked to a feedback resource, such that UE 115-a may transmit the feedback message 230 while operating in the RRC idle mode 215. For example, base station 105-a may configure UE 115-awith a resource for transmitting the uplink data 220 and a resource for transmitting the feedback message 230. The feedback resource, based on the resource release message 225 being transmitted, may be configured with the configuration of the uplink resource for the uplink data 220. For example, the configuration for the data resource and the feedback resource may be indicated (e.g., by configuration indicator (s) 210) in an RRC message. The configuration indicator (s) 210 may be transmitted while UE 115-aoperates in the RRC connected mode 205. When UE 115-a transitions to the RRC idle mode 215, UE 115-a may transmit the uplink data 220 using the uplink data resource and, if a resource release message 225 has been received, transmit the feedback message 230 using the feedback resource.

In some cases, the feedback resource may be based on the time-frequency resource used to transmit the resource release message 225. For example, the feedback resource may be based on a specific time-frequency resource associated with the paging occasion with the resource release message 225 for UE 115-a. In some cases, a time-domain offset from the paging occasion may be configured as a feedback resource for UE 115-ato transmit the feedback message 230. For example, a feedback resource may be configured after a configured number of symbol periods, mini-slots, slots, etc. from the time-frequency resource used to transmit the resource release message 225. In some cases, the time-domain offset may be configured as part of the configuration indicated by the configuration indicator (s) 210.

In some cases, if the feedback resource is later than a next configured transmission occasion for transmitting the uplink data 220, UE 115-a may use the transmission occasion for transmitting the uplink data 220 to transmit the feedback message 230. In some cases, UE 115-a may transmit the feedback message 230 on the uplink data resource during the transmission opportunity instead of transmitting the uplink data 220. Or, in some cases, UE 115-a may transmit the feedback message 230 and at least a portion of the uplink data 220 during the transmission opportunity of the uplink data resource. In some examples, UE 115-amay prioritize transmission of the feedback message 230 over transmission of the uplink data 220.

The feedback resource may additionally, or alternatively, be based on one or more of a preamble, an uplink shared channel (e.g., a PUSCH) , an uplink control channel (e.g., a PUCCH) . In some cases, the preamble may be associated with an identifier of UE 115-a. For example, the preamble may be associated with the UE-ID.

If base station 105-areceives a feedback message 230 containing an acknowledgment (ACK) feedback corresponding to the resource release message 225, base station 105-a may determine that the preconfigured uplink resources for UE 115-acan be released. For example, base station 105-a may release the data resource. Additionally, or alternatively, base station 105-a may reconfigure the released resource to be used for other UEs 115. In some cases, base station 105-a may assign the released resource to other UEs 115, or the released resources may be handled by the core network, or both.

If base station 105-adoes not receive a feedback message 230 containing an ACK corresponding to the resource release message 225, base station 105-a may determine that UE 115-a did not receive the resource release message 225. Base station 105-a may not receive a feedback message 230 after a period of time, and base station 105-a may determine that UE 115-a did not receive the resource release message 225 and therefore did not transmit a feedback message 230.

Based on determining that UE 115-adid not receive the resource release message 225, base station 105-a may, in a first example, transmit an additional resource release message to UE 115-a. In a second example, base station 105-a may stop the resource release message transmission. In the second example, base station 105-a may let UE 115-a continue to use the configured uplink resources. In some cases, a combination of the first example and the second example may occur. For example, base station 105-a may attempt a configured number of retransmissions of the resource release message 225. After the configured number of attempts, if base station 105-a has still not received a feedback message 230 containing an ACK, base station 105-a may let UE 115-a continue to use the configured uplink resource.

In some of the described examples of the idle mode feedback schemes, a paging procedure is used to transmit or to convey the resource release message 225. In other examples, other forms of signaling or transmission may be used to transmit the resource release message 225.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a process flow 300 that supports idle mode feedback for uplink resource release in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, process flow 300 may implement aspects of wireless communications system 100. Process flow 300 may include UE 115-b and base station 105-b, which may be respective examples of a UE 115 and a base station 105 described herein.

At 305, UE 115-b may be in an RRC connected mode (e.g., RRC_CONNECT) . Base station 105-b may transmit, to UE 115-b in the RRC connected mode, one or more indicators for a configuration of a first uplink resource for data and a second uplink resource for feedback. For example, the first uplink resource for data may be used by UE 115-b to transmit a small amount of data periodically while in an RRC idle mode 315. In some cases, UE 115-b may be an example of an IoT device or another low power device, and base station 105-b may configure uplink resources for UE 115-b to transmit data. As described herein, UE 115-b may transmit uplink data at 320 while in the RRC idle mode 315.

At 325, base station 105-b may transmit, to UE 115-b in the RRC idle mode 315, a resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource. For example, base station 105-b may attempt to free up the configured first uplink resource and the second uplink resource. The network may plan on reassigning these configured resources for another wireless device, or UE 115-b may be finished transmitting uplink data. The first uplink resource may be an example of a data resource as described herein, and the second uplink resource may be an example of a feedback resource as described herein. Base station 105-b may configure both a data resource and a feedback resource such that UE 115-b can transmit feedback for the resource release message. In some conventional wireless communications systems, a UE 115 may not be configured with resources for transmitting feedback to the resource release message, which may lead to the UE 115 of the conventional wireless communications system miss the resource release message and causing interference if those resources are reconfigured for use by other UEs 115.

The resource release message may be linked to a feedback resource, such that UE 115-b can transmit a feedback message while operating in the RRC idle mode 315. In some examples, both the uplink resource and the feedback resource may be configured by RRC signaling at 310 while UE 115-b is in the RRC connected mode 305.

In some cases, the feedback resource may be based on the time-frequency resource used to transmit the resource release message. For example, UE 115-b may receive the resource release message and identify resources to transmit feedback based on which resources were used to transmit the resource release message. As such, the feedback resources configured at 310 may, in some cases, be relative to resources which are used to transmit a resource release message. For example, a feedback resource may be configured after a configured number of symbol periods, mini-slots, slots, etc., from the time-frequency resource used to transmit the resource release message. In some other examples, the feedback resources may be more statically configured, where resources for the feedback resources (e.g., including transmission opportunities or other time/frequency characteristics) may be based on the uplink data resources or an explicit indication in the RRC configuration.

In an example, the resource release message may be transmitted based on a paging procedure. The resource release message may be transmitted during a paging occasion, and the feedback resource may be based on a specific time-frequency resource for the paging occasion. In some cases, resources at a time-domain offset from the paging occasion may be configured as a feedback resource for UE 115-b to transmit the feedback message. In some cases, the time-domain offset may be configured as part of the configuration indicated by the configuration indicator (s) received at 310.

In some cases, if a first transmission opportunity for uplink data precedes a second transmission opportunity for the feedback resource, UE 115-b transmit the feedback message on the first uplink resource during the first transmission opportunity. UE 115-b may piggy-back the transmission occasion associated with uplink data to transmit the feedback message. In some cases, UE 115-b may transmit the feedback message on the uplink data resource during its transmission opportunity instead of transmitting the uplink data. Or, in some cases, UE 115-b may transmit the feedback message and at least a portion of the uplink data during the transmission opportunity of the uplink data resource. In some examples, UE 115-b may prioritize transmission of the feedback message over transmission of uplink data.

The feedback resource may additionally, or alternatively, be based on one or more of a preamble, an uplink shared channel (e.g., a PUSCH) , an uplink control channel (e.g., a PUCCH) . In some cases, the preamble may be associated with an identifier of UE 115-b. For example, the preamble may be associated with the UE-ID.

At 335, UE 115-b may transmit feedback for the resource release message. UE 115-b may either transmit the feedback message using the feedback resources or using the uplink data resources (e.g., if a transmission opportunity for the uplink data resources precedes a transmission opportunity for the feedback resources) .

Base station 105-b may monitor for the feedback message at 330. Base station 105-b may monitor for a feedback message which is based on the preconfigured uplink data resource, the preconfigured uplink feedback resource, or both. Base station 105-b may monitor for the feedback message based on the configuration which is indicated (e.g., by RRC signaling) at 310. For example, base station 105-b may identify a transmission occasion for the feedback message based on the resource release message and the configuration, and base station 105-b may monitor for the feedback message at the identified transmission occasion.

In some cases, base station 105-b may receive the feedback message. In some cases, the feedback message may include an ACK, indicating that UE 115-b received the resource release message. If the feedback message includes an ACK, base station 105-b may release the uplink resources configured for UE 115-b. Additionally, or alternatively, base station 105-b may reconfigure the released resource to be used for other UEs 115.

If base station 105-b does not receive a feedback message containing an ACK corresponding to the resource release message, base station 105-b may determine that UE 115-b did not receive the resource release message. In some examples, base station 105-b may determine, after a period of monitoring for the feedback message, that the feedback message has not been transmitted by UE 115-b. In some examples (not illustrated) , this may be based on UE 115-b not receiving the resource release message at 325 and therefore not transmitting a feedback message.

If base station 105-b determines that UE 115-b did not successfully receive the resource release message, base station 105-b may, in a first example, transmit an additional resource release message to UE 115-b (shown at 340) . In a second example, base station 105-b may stop the resource release message transmission. In the second example, base station 105-b may let UE 115-b continue to use the configured uplink resources. In some cases, a combination of the first example and the second example may occur. For example, base station 105-b may attempt a configured number of retransmissions of the resource release message. After the configured number of attempts, if base station 105-b has still not received a feedback message containing an ACK, base station 105-b may let UE 115-b continue to use the configured uplink resource.

In some of the described examples of the idle mode feedback schemes, a paging procedure is used to transmit or to convey the resource release message. In other examples, other forms of signaling or transmission may be used to transmit the resource release message.

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram 400 of a device 405 that supports idle mode feedback for uplink resource release in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device 405 may be an example of aspects of a UE 115 as described herein. The device 405 may include a receiver 410, a communications manager 415, and a transmitter 420. The device 405 may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses) .

The receiver 410 may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to idle mode feedback for uplink resource release, etc. ) . Information may be passed on to other components of the device 405. The receiver 410 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 720 described with reference to FIG. 7. The receiver 410 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

The communications manager 415 may receive, in a radio resource control connected mode, one or more indicators for a configuration of a first uplink resource to transmit data and a second uplink resource to transmit feedback, receive, in a radio resource control idle mode, a resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource, and transmit, in the radio resource control idle mode, a feedback message in response to the resource release message. The communications manager 415 may be an example of aspects of the communications manager 710 described herein.

The communications manager 415, or its sub-components, may be implemented in hardware, code (e.g., software or firmware) executed by a processor, or any combination thereof. If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functions of the communications manager 415, or its sub-components may be executed by a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) , a FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described in the present disclosure.

The communications manager 415, or its sub-components, may be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations by one or more physical components. In some examples, the communications manager 415, or its sub-components, may be a separate and distinct component in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the communications manager 415, or its sub-components, may be combined with one or more other hardware components, including but not limited to an input/output (I/O) component, a transceiver, a network server, another computing device, one or more other components described in the present disclosure, or a combination thereof in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

The transmitter 420 may transmit signals generated by other components of the device 405. In some examples, the transmitter 420 may be collocated with a receiver 410 in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter 420 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 720 described with reference to FIG. 7. The transmitter 420 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram 500 of a device 505 that supports idle mode feedback for uplink resource release in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device 505 may be an example of aspects of a device 405, or a UE 115 as described herein. The device 505 may include a receiver 510, a communications manager 515, and a transmitter 535. The device 505 may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses) .

The receiver 510 may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to idle mode feedback for uplink resource release, etc. ) . Information may be passed on to other components of the device 505. The receiver 510 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 720 described with reference to FIG. 7. The receiver 510 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

The communications manager 515 may be an example of aspects of the communications manager 415 as described herein. The communications manager 515 may include a resource configuration component 520, a resource release message component 525, and a feedback message component 530. The communications manager 515 may be an example of aspects of the communications manager 710 described herein.

The resource configuration component 520 may receive, in a radio resource control connected mode, one or more indicators for a configuration of a first uplink resource to transmit data and a second uplink resource to transmit feedback.

The resource release message component 525 may receive, in a radio resource control idle mode, a resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource.

The feedback message component 530 may transmit, in the radio resource control idle mode, a feedback message in response to the resource release message.

The transmitter 535 may transmit signals generated by other components of the device 505. In some examples, the transmitter 535 may be collocated with a receiver 510 in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter 535 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 720 described with reference to FIG. 7. The transmitter 535 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

FIG. 6 shows a block diagram 600 of a communications manager 605 that supports idle mode feedback for uplink resource release in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The communications manager 605 may be an example of aspects of a communications manager 415, a communications manager 515, or a communications manager 710 described herein. The communications manager 605 may include a resource configuration component 610, a resource release message component 615, a feedback message component 620, and a resource release component 625. Each of these modules may communicate, directly or indirectly, with one another (e.g., via one or more buses) .

The resource configuration component 610 may receive, in a radio resource control connected mode, one or more indicators for a configuration of a first uplink resource to transmit data and a second uplink resource to transmit feedback. In some examples, the resource configuration component 610 may identify the second uplink resource based on one or more of a time-frequency resource associated with the resource release message, a preamble, an uplink shared channel, or an uplink control channel. In some cases, the preamble is associated with an identifier of the UE. In some examples, the resource configuration component 610 may identify a transmit opportunity for the feedback message based on a time-domain offset from the received resource release message.

The resource release message component 615 may receive, in a radio resource control idle mode, a resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource. In some cases, the resource release message is received based on a paging procedure.

The feedback message component 620 may transmit, in the radio resource control idle mode, a feedback message in response to the resource release message. In some examples, the feedback message component 620 may transmit the feedback message using the second uplink resource. In some examples, the feedback message component 620 may identify a first transmission opportunity for the first uplink resource which precedes a second transmission opportunity for the second uplink resource. In some examples, the feedback message component 620 may transmit the feedback message on the first uplink resource during the first transmission opportunity. The resource release component 625 may determine the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource have been released based on transmitting the feedback message.

FIG. 7 shows a diagram of a system 700 including a device 705 that supports idle mode feedback for uplink resource release in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device 705 may be an example of or include the components of device 405, device 505, or a UE 115 as described herein. The device 705 may include components for bi-directional voice and data communications including components for transmitting and receiving communications, including a communications manager 710, an I/O controller 715, a transceiver 720, an antenna 725, memory 730, and a processor 740. These components may be in electronic communication via one or more buses (e.g., bus 745) .

The communications manager 710 may receive, in a radio resource control connected mode, one or more indicators for a configuration of a first uplink resource to transmit data and a second uplink resource to transmit feedback, receive, in a radio resource control idle mode, a resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource, and transmit, in the radio resource control idle mode, a feedback message in response to the resource release message.

The I/O controller 715 may manage input and output signals for the device 705. The I/O controller 715 may also manage peripherals not integrated into the device 705. In some cases, the I/O controller 715 may represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral. In some cases, the I/O controller 715 may utilize an operating system such as

MS-

OS/

or another known operating system. In other cases, the I/O controller 715 may represent or interact with a modem, a keyboard, a mouse, a touchscreen, or a similar device. In some cases, the I/O controller 715 may be implemented as part of a processor. In some cases, a user may interact with the device 705 via the I/O controller 715 or via hardware components controlled by the I/O controller 715.

The transceiver 720 may communicate bi-directionally, via one or more antennas, wired, or wireless links as described above. For example, the transceiver 720 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 720 may also include a modem to modulate the packets and provide the modulated packets to the antennas for transmission, and to demodulate packets received from the antennas.

In some cases, the wireless device may include a single antenna 725. However, in some cases the device may have more than one antenna 725, which may be capable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions.

The memory 730 may include RAM and ROM. The memory 730 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code 735 including instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform various functions described herein. In some cases, the memory 730 may contain, among other things, a BIOS which may control basic hardware or software operation such as the interaction with peripheral components or devices.

The processor 740 may include an intelligent hardware device, (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof) . In some cases, the processor 740 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In other cases, a memory controller may be integrated into the processor 740. The processor 740 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the memory 730) to cause the device 705 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting idle mode feedback for uplink resource release) .

The code 735 may include instructions to implement aspects of the present disclosure, including instructions to support wireless communications. The code 735 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as system memory or other type of memory. In some cases, the code 735 may not be directly executable by the processor 740 but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functions described herein.

FIG. 8 shows a block diagram 800 of a device 805 that supports idle mode feedback for uplink resource release in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device 805 may be an example of aspects of a base station 105 as described herein. The device 805 may include a receiver 810, a communications manager 815, and a transmitter 820. The device 805 may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses) .

The receiver 810 may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to idle mode feedback for uplink resource release, etc. ) . Information may be passed on to other components of the device 805. The receiver 810 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 1120 described with reference to FIG. 11. The receiver 810 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

The communications manager 815 may transmit, to a UE in a radio resource control connected mode, one or more indicators for a configuration of a first uplink resource for data and a second uplink resource for feedback, transmit, to the UE in a radio resource control idle mode, a resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource, and monitor for a feedback message from the UE in the radio resource control idle mode based on the resource release message. The communications manager 815 may be an example of aspects of the communications manager 1110 described herein.

The communications manager 815, or its sub-components, may be implemented in hardware, code (e.g., software or firmware) executed by a processor, or any combination thereof. If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functions of the communications manager 815, or its sub-components may be executed by a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) , a FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described in the present disclosure.

The communications manager 815, or its sub-components, may be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations by one or more physical components. In some examples, the communications manager 815, or its sub-components, may be a separate and distinct component in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the communications manager 815, or its sub-components, may be combined with one or more other hardware components, including but not limited to an input/output (I/O) component, a transceiver, a network server, another computing device, one or more other components described in the present disclosure, or a combination thereof in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

The transmitter 820 may transmit signals generated by other components of the device 805. In some examples, the transmitter 820 may be collocated with a receiver 810 in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter 820 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 1120 described with reference to FIG. 11. The transmitter 820 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

FIG. 9 shows a block diagram 900 of a device 905 that supports idle mode feedback for uplink resource release in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device 905 may be an example of aspects of a device 805, or a base station 105 as described herein. The device 905 may include a receiver 910, a communications manager 915, and a transmitter 935. The device 905 may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses) .

The receiver 910 may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to idle mode feedback for uplink resource release, etc. ) . Information may be passed on to other components of the device 905. The receiver 910 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 1120 described with reference to FIG. 11. The receiver 910 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

The communications manager 915 may be an example of aspects of the communications manager 815 as described herein. The communications manager 915 may include a resource configuration component 920, a resource release message component 925, and a feedback message component 930. The communications manager 915 may be an example of aspects of the communications manager 1110 described herein.

The resource configuration component 920 may transmit, to a UE in a radio resource control connected mode, one or more indicators for a configuration of a first uplink resource for data and a second uplink resource for feedback. The resource release message component 925 may transmit, to the UE in a radio resource control idle mode, a resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource. The feedback message component 930 may monitor for a feedback message from the UE in the radio resource control idle mode based on the resource release message.

The transmitter 935 may transmit signals generated by other components of the device 905. In some examples, the transmitter 935 may be collocated with a receiver 910 in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter 935 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 1120 described with reference to FIG. 11. The transmitter 935 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

FIG. 10 shows a block diagram 1000 of a communications manager 1005 that supports idle mode feedback for uplink resource release in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The communications manager 1005 may be an example of aspects of a communications manager 815, a communications manager 915, or a communications manager 1110 described herein. The communications manager 1005 may include a resource configuration component 1010, a resource release message component 1015, a feedback message component 1020, a resource release component 1025, and a release message retransmission component 1030. Each of these modules may communicate, directly or indirectly, with one another (e.g., via one or more buses) .

The resource configuration component 1010 may transmit, to a UE in a radio resource control connected mode, one or more indicators for a configuration of a first uplink resource for data and a second uplink resource for feedback. In some examples, the resource configuration component 1010 may indicate the second uplink resource based on one or more of a time-frequency resource associated with the resource release message, a preamble, an uplink shared channel, or an uplink control channel. In some cases, the preamble is associated with an identifier of the UE. In some examples, the resource configuration component 1010 may identify a transmit opportunity for the feedback message based on a time-domain offset from the received resource release message.

The resource release message component 1015 may transmit, to the UE in a radio resource control idle mode, a resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource. In some cases, the resource release message transmitted based on a paging procedure.

The feedback message component 1020 may monitor for a feedback message from the UE in the radio resource control idle mode based on the resource release message. In some examples, the feedback message component 1020 may receive the feedback message on the second uplink resource. In some examples, the feedback message component 1020 may identify a first transmission opportunity for the first uplink resource which precedes a second transmission opportunity for the second uplink resource.

In some examples, the feedback message component 1020 may receive the feedback message on the first uplink resource during the first transmission opportunity. In some examples, the feedback message component 1020 may receive the feedback message from the UE in the radio resource control idle mode. In some examples, the feedback message component 1020 may determine, after a time period of the monitoring, that the feedback message has not been transmitted. In some examples, the feedback message component 1020 may refrain from transmitting, to the UE in the radio resource control idle mode, an additional resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource.

The resource release component 1025 may release the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource based on the received feedback message. The release message retransmission component 1030 may determine, after a time period of the monitoring, that the feedback message has not been transmitted. In some examples, the release message retransmission component 1030 may transmit, to the UE in the radio resource control idle mode, an additional resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource.

FIG. 11 shows a diagram of a system 1100 including a device 1105 that supports idle mode feedback for uplink resource release in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device 1105 may be an example of or include the components of device 805, device 905, or a base station 105 as described herein. The device 1105 may include components for bi-directional voice and data communications including components for transmitting and receiving communications, including a communications manager 1110, a network communications manager 1115, a transceiver 1120, an antenna 1125, memory 1130, a processor 1140, and an inter-station communications manager 1145. These components may be in electronic communication via one or more buses (e.g., bus 1150) .

The communications manager 1110 may transmit, to a UE in a radio resource control connected mode, one or more indicators for a configuration of a first uplink resource for data and a second uplink resource for feedback, transmit, to the UE in a radio resource control idle mode, a resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource, and monitor for a feedback message from the UE in the radio resource control idle mode based on the resource release message.

The network communications manager 1115 may manage communications with the core network (e.g., via one or more wired backhaul links) . For example, the network communications manager 1115 may manage the transfer of data communications for client devices, such as one or more UEs 115.

The transceiver 1120 may communicate bi-directionally, via one or more antennas, wired, or wireless links as described above. For example, the transceiver 1120 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 1120 may also include a modem to modulate the packets and provide the modulated packets to the antennas for transmission, and to demodulate packets received from the antennas.

In some cases, the wireless device may include a single antenna 1125. However, in some cases the device may have more than one antenna 1125, which may be capable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions.

The memory 1130 may include RAM, ROM, or a combination thereof. The memory 1130 may store computer-readable code 1135 including instructions that, when executed by a processor (e.g., the processor 1140) cause the device to perform various functions described herein. In some cases, the memory 1130 may contain, among other things, a BIOS which may control basic hardware or software operation such as the interaction with peripheral components or devices.

The processor 1140 may include an intelligent hardware device, (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof) . In some cases, the processor 1140 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In some cases, a memory controller may be integrated into processor 1140. The processor 1140 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the memory 1130) to cause the device 1105 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting idle mode feedback for uplink resource release) .

The inter-station communications manager 1145 may manage communications with other base stations 105 and may include a controller or scheduler for controlling communications with UEs 115 in cooperation with other base stations 105. For example, the inter-station communications manager 1145 may coordinate scheduling for transmissions to UEs 115 for various interference mitigation techniques such as beamforming or joint transmission. In some examples, the inter-station communications manager 1145 may provide an X2 interface within an LTE/LTE-Awireless communication network technology to provide communication between base stations 105.

The code 1135 may include instructions to implement aspects of the present disclosure, including instructions to support wireless communications. The code 1135 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as system memory or other type of memory. In some cases, the code 1135 may not be directly executable by the processor 1140 but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functions described herein.

FIG. 12 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1200 that supports idle mode feedback for uplink resource release in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1200 may be implemented by a UE 115 or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of method 1200 may be performed by a communications manager as described with reference to FIGs. 4 through 7. In some examples, a UE may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, a UE may perform aspects of the functions described below using special-purpose hardware.

At 1205, the UE may receive, in a radio resource control connected mode, one or more indicators for a configuration of a first uplink resource to transmit data and a second uplink resource to transmit feedback. The operations of 1205 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1205 may be performed by a resource configuration component as described with reference to FIGs. 4 through 7.

At 1210, the UE may receive, in a radio resource control idle mode, a resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource. The operations of 1210 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1210 may be performed by a resource release message component as described with reference to FIGs. 4 through 7.

At 1215, the UE may transmit, in the radio resource control idle mode, a feedback message in response to the resource release message. The operations of 1215 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1215 may be performed by a feedback message component as described with reference to FIGs. 4 through 7.

FIG. 13 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1300 that supports idle mode feedback for uplink resource release in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1300 may be implemented by a UE 115 or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of method 1300 may be performed by a communications manager as described with reference to FIGs. 4 through 7. In some examples, a UE may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, a UE may perform aspects of the functions described below using special-purpose hardware.

At 1305, the UE may receive, in a radio resource control connected mode, one or more indicators for a configuration of a first uplink resource to transmit data and a second uplink resource to transmit feedback. The operations of 1305 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1305 may be performed by a resource configuration component as described with reference to FIGs. 4 through 7.

At 1310, the UE may receive, in a radio resource control idle mode, a resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource. The operations of 1310 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1310 may be performed by a resource release message component as described with reference to FIGs. 4 through 7.

At 1315, the UE may transmit, in the radio resource control idle mode, a feedback message in response to the resource release message using the second uplink resource. The operations of 1315 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1315 may be performed by a feedback message component as described with reference to FIGs. 4 through 7.

FIG. 14 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1400 that supports idle mode feedback for uplink resource release in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1400 may be implemented by a UE 115 or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of method 1400 may be performed by a communications manager as described with reference to FIGs. 4 through 7. In some examples, a UE may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, a UE may perform aspects of the functions described below using special-purpose hardware.

At 1405, the UE may receive, in a radio resource control connected mode, one or more indicators for a configuration of a first uplink resource to transmit data and a second uplink resource to transmit feedback. The operations of 1405 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1405 may be performed by a resource configuration component as described with reference to FIGs. 4 through 7.

At 1410, the UE may receive, in a radio resource control idle mode, a resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource. The operations of 1410 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1410 may be performed by a resource release message component as described with reference to FIGs. 4 through 7.

At 1415, the UE may identify a first transmission opportunity for the first uplink resource which precedes a second transmission opportunity for the second uplink resource. The operations of 1415 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1415 may be performed by a feedback message component as described with reference to FIGs. 4 through 7.

At 1420, the UE may transmit, in the radio resource control idle mode, a feedback message on the first uplink resource during the first transmission opportunity in response to the resource release message. The operations of 1420 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1420 may be performed by a feedback message component as described with reference to FIGs. 4 through 7.

FIG. 15 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1500 that supports idle mode feedback for uplink resource release in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1500 may be implemented by a base station 105 or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of method 1500 may be performed by a communications manager as described with reference to FIGs. 8 through 11. In some examples, a base station may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the base station to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, a base station may perform aspects of the functions described below using special-purpose hardware.

At 1505, the base station may transmit, to a UE in a radio resource control connected mode, one or more indicators for a configuration of a first uplink resource for data and a second uplink resource for feedback. The operations of 1505 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1505 may be performed by a resource configuration component as described with reference to FIGs. 8 through 11.

At 1510, the base station may transmit, to the UE in a radio resource control idle mode, a resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource. The operations of 1510 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1510 may be performed by a resource release message component as described with reference to FIGs. 8 through 11.

At 1515, the base station may monitor for a feedback message from the UE in the radio resource control idle mode based on the resource release message. The operations of 1515 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1515 may be performed by a feedback message component as described with reference to FIGs. 8 through 11.

FIG. 16 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1600 that supports idle mode feedback for uplink resource release in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1600 may be implemented by a base station 105 or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of method 1600 may be performed by a communications manager as described with reference to FIGs. 8 through 11. In some examples, a base station may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the base station to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, a base station may perform aspects of the functions described below using special-purpose hardware.

At 1605, the base station may transmit, to a UE in a radio resource control connected mode, one or more indicators for a configuration of a first uplink resource for data and a second uplink resource for feedback. The operations of 1605 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1605 may be performed by a resource configuration component as described with reference to FIGs. 8 through 11.

At 1610, the base station may transmit, to the UE in a radio resource control idle mode, a resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource. The operations of 1610 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1610 may be performed by a resource release message component as described with reference to FIGs. 8 through 11.

At 1615, the base station may monitor for a feedback message from the UE in the radio resource control idle mode based on the resource release message. The operations of 1615 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1615 may be performed by a feedback message component as described with reference to FIGs. 8 through 11.

At 1620, the base station may receive the feedback message on the second uplink resource. The operations of 1620 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1620 may be performed by a feedback message component as described with reference to FIGs. 8 through 11.

At 1625, the base station may release the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource based on the received feedback message. The operations of 1625 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1625 may be performed by a resource release component as described with reference to FIGs. 8 through 11.

FIG. 17 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1700 that supports idle mode feedback for uplink resource release in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1700 may be implemented by a base station 105 or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of method 1700 may be performed by a communications manager as described with reference to FIGs. 8 through 11. In some examples, a base station may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the base station to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, a base station may perform aspects of the functions described below using special-purpose hardware.

At 1705, the base station may transmit, to a UE in a radio resource control connected mode, one or more indicators for a configuration of a first uplink resource for data and a second uplink resource for feedback. The operations of 1705 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1705 may be performed by a resource configuration component as described with reference to FIGs. 8 through 11.

At 1710, the base station may transmit, to the UE in a radio resource control idle mode, a resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource. The operations of 1710 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1710 may be performed by a resource release message component as described with reference to FIGs. 8 through 11.

At 1715, the base station may monitor for a feedback message from the UE in the radio resource control idle mode based on the resource release message. The operations of 1715 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1715 may be performed by a feedback message component as described with reference to FIGs. 8 through 11.

At 1720, the base station may determine, after a time period of the monitoring, that the feedback message has not been transmitted. The operations of 1720 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1720 may be performed by a release message retransmission component as described with reference to FIGs. 8 through 11.

At 1725, the base station may transmit, to the UE in the radio resource control idle mode, an additional resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource. The operations of 1725 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1725 may be performed by a release message retransmission component as described with reference to FIGs. 8 through 11.

FIG. 18 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1800 that supports idle mode feedback for uplink resource release in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1800 may be implemented by a base station 105 or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of method 1800 may be performed by a communications manager as described with reference to FIGs. 8 through 11. In some examples, a base station may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the base station to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, a base station may perform aspects of the functions described below using special-purpose hardware.

At 1805, the base station may transmit, to a UE in a radio resource control connected mode, one or more indicators for a configuration of a first uplink resource for data and a second uplink resource for feedback. The operations of 1805 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1805 may be performed by a resource configuration component as described with reference to FIGs. 8 through 11.

At 1810, the base station may transmit, to the UE in a radio resource control idle mode, a resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource. The operations of 1810 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1810 may be performed by a resource release message component as described with reference to FIGs. 8 through 11.

At 1815, the base station may monitor for a feedback message from the UE in the radio resource control idle mode based on the resource release message. The operations of 1815 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1815 may be performed by a feedback message component as described with reference to FIGs. 8 through 11.

At 1820, the base station may determine, after a time period of the monitoring, that the feedback message has not been transmitted. The operations of 1820 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1820 may be performed by a feedback message component as described with reference to FIGs. 8 through 11.

At 1825, the base station may refrain from transmitting, to the UE in the radio resource control idle mode, an additional resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource. The operations of 1825 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1825 may be performed by a feedback message component as described with reference to FIGs. 8 through 11.

It should be noted that the methods described herein describe possible implementations, and that the operations and the steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified and that other implementations are possible. Further, aspects from two or more of the methods may be combined.

Techniques described herein may be used for various wireless communications systems such as code division multiple access (CDMA) , time division multiple access (TDMA) , frequency division multiple access (FDMA) , orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) , single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) , and other systems. A CDMA system may implement a radio technology such as CDMA2000, Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA) , etc. CDMA2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95, and IS-856 standards. IS-2000 Releases may be commonly referred to as CDMA2000 1X, 1X, etc. IS-856 (TIA-856) is commonly referred to as CDMA2000 1xEV-DO, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD) , etc. UTRA includes Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and other variants of CDMA. A TDMA system may implement a radio technology such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) .

An OFDMA system may implement a radio technology such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB) , Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA) , Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi) , IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX) , IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) . LTE, LTE-A, and LTE-APro are releases of UMTS that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A, LTE-APro, NR, and GSM are described in documents from the organization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project” (3GPP) . CDMA2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project 2” (3GPP2) . The techniques described herein may be used for the systems and radio technologies mentioned herein as well as other systems and radio technologies. While aspects of an LTE, LTE-A, LTE-APro, or NR system may be described for purposes of example, and LTE, LTE-A, LTE-APro, or NR terminology may be used in much of the description, the techniques described herein are applicable beyond LTE, LTE-A, LTE-APro, or NR applications.

A macro cell generally covers a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs 115 with service subscriptions with the network provider. A small cell may be associated with a lower-powered base station 105, as compared with a macro cell, and a small cell may operate in the same or different (e.g., licensed, unlicensed, etc. ) frequency bands as macro cells. Small cells may include pico cells, femto cells, and micro cells according to various examples. A pico cell, for example, may cover a small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs 115 with service subscriptions with the network provider. A femto cell may also cover a small geographic area (e.g., a home) and may provide restricted access by UEs 115 having an association with the femto cell (e.g., UEs 115 in a closed subscriber group (CSG) , UEs 115 for users in the home, and the like) . An eNB for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro eNB. An eNB for a small cell may be referred to as a small cell eNB, a pico eNB, a femto eNB, or a home eNB. An eNB may support one or multiple (e.g., two, three, four, and the like) cells, and may also support communications using one or multiple component carriers.

The wireless communications system 100 or systems described herein may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, the base stations 105 may have similar frame timing, and transmissions from different base stations 105 may be approximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the base stations 105 may have different frame timing, and transmissions from different base stations 105 may not be aligned in time. The techniques described herein may be used for either synchronous or asynchronous operations.

Information and signals described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

The various illustrative blocks and modules described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP) , an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) , a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device (PLD) , discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration) .

The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, or any combination thereof. Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer- readable medium. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, functions described herein can be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, hardwiring, or combinations of any of these. Features implementing functions may also be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations.

Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A non-transitory storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media may include random-access memory (RAM) , read-only memory (ROM) , electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM) , flash memory, compact disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transitory medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL) , or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, include CD, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD) , floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media.

As used herein, including in the claims, “or” as used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items prefaced by a phrase such as “at least one of” or “one or more of” ) indicates an inclusive list such that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C) . As used herein, including in the claims, the term “and/or, ” when used in a list of two or more items, means that any one of the listed items can be employed by itself, or any combination of two or more of the listed items can be employed. For example, if a composition is described as containing components A, B, and/or C, the composition can contain A alone; B alone; C alone; A and B in combination; A and C in combination; B and C in combination; or A, B, and C in combination. Also, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall not be construed as a reference to a closed set of conditions. For example, an exemplary step that is described as “based on condition A” may be based on both a condition A and a condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall be construed in the same manner as the phrase “based at least in part on. ”

In the appended figures, similar components or features may have the same reference label. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a second label that distinguishes among the similar components. If just the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second reference label, or other subsequent reference label.

The description set forth herein, in connection with the appended drawings, describes example configurations and does not represent all the examples that may be implemented or that are within the scope of the claims. The term “exemplary” used herein means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration, ” and not “preferred” or “advantageous over other examples. ” The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing an understanding of the described techniques. These techniques, however, may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples.

The description herein is provided to enable a person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein, but is to be accorded the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

A method for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE) , comprising:

receiving, in a radio resource control connected mode, one or more indicators for a configuration of a first uplink resource to transmit data and a second uplink resource to transmit feedback;

receiving, in a radio resource control idle mode, a resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource; and

transmitting, in the radio resource control idle mode, a feedback message in response to the resource release message.
The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the feedback message comprises:

transmitting the feedback message using the second uplink resource.
The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the feedback message comprises:

identifying a first transmission opportunity for the first uplink resource which precedes a second transmission opportunity for the second uplink resource; and

transmitting the feedback message on the first uplink resource during the first transmission opportunity.
The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource have been released based at least in part on transmitting the feedback message.
The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying the second uplink resource based at least in part on one or more of a time-frequency resource associated with the resource release message, a preamble, an uplink shared channel, or an uplink control channel.
The method of claim 5, wherein the preamble is associated with an identifier of the UE.
The method of claim 1, wherein the resource release message is received based at least in part on a paging procedure.
The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying a transmit opportunity for the feedback message based at least in part on a time-domain offset from the received resource release message.
A method for wireless communication at a base station, comprising:

transmitting, to a user equipment (UE) in a radio resource control connected mode, one or more indicators for a configuration of a first uplink resource for data and a second uplink resource for feedback;

transmitting, to the UE in a radio resource control idle mode, a resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource; and

monitoring for a feedback message from the UE in the radio resource control idle mode based at least in part on the resource release message.
The method of claim 9, further comprising:

receiving the feedback message on the second uplink resource; and

releasing the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource based at least in part on the received feedback message.
The method of claim 9, further comprising:

identifying a first transmission opportunity for the first uplink resource which precedes a second transmission opportunity for the second uplink resource;

receiving the feedback message on the first uplink resource during the first transmission opportunity; and

releasing the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource based at least in part on the received feedback message.
The method of claim 9, further comprising:

receiving the feedback message from the UE in the radio resource control idle mode; and

releasing the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource based at least in part on the received feedback message.
The method of claim 9, further comprising:

determining, after a time period of the monitoring, that the feedback message has not been transmitted; and

transmitting, to the UE in the radio resource control idle mode, an additional resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource.
The method of claim 9, further comprising:

determining, after a time period of the monitoring, that the feedback message has not been transmitted; and

refraining from transmitting, to the UE in the radio resource control idle mode, an additional resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource.
The method of claim 9, further comprising:

indicating the second uplink resource based at least in part on one or more of a time-frequency resource associated with the resource release message, a preamble, an uplink shared channel, or an uplink control channel.
The method of claim 15, wherein the preamble is associated with an identifier of the UE.
The method of claim 9, wherein the resource release message transmitted based at least in part on a paging procedure.
The method of claim 9, further comprising:

identifying a transmit opportunity for the feedback message based at least in part on a time-domain offset from the received resource release message.
An apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE) , comprising:

a processor,

memory in electronic communication with the processor; and

instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

receive, in a radio resource control connected mode, one or more indicators for a configuration of a first uplink resource to transmit data and a second uplink resource to transmit feedback;

receive, in a radio resource control idle mode, a resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource; and

transmit, in the radio resource control idle mode, a feedback message in response to the resource release message.
An apparatus for wireless communication at a base station, comprising:

a processor,

memory in electronic communication with the processor; and

instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

transmit, to a user equipment (UE) in a radio resource control connected mode, one or more indicators for a configuration of a first uplink resource for data and a second uplink resource for feedback;

transmit, to the UE in a radio resource control idle mode, a resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource; and

monitor for a feedback message from the UE in the radio resource control idle mode based at least in part on the resource release message.
An apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE) , comprising:

means for receiving, in a radio resource control connected mode, one or more indicators for a configuration of a first uplink resource to transmit data and a second uplink resource to transmit feedback;

means for receiving, in a radio resource control idle mode, a resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource; and

means for transmitting, in the radio resource control idle mode, a feedback message in response to the resource release message.
An apparatus for wireless communication at a base station, comprising:

means for transmitting, to a user equipment (UE) in a radio resource control connected mode, one or more indicators for a configuration of a first uplink resource for data and a second uplink resource for feedback;

means for transmitting, to the UE in a radio resource control idle mode, a resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource; and

means for monitoring for a feedback message from the UE in the radio resource control idle mode based at least in part on the resource release message.
A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE) , the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to:

receive, in a radio resource control connected mode, one or more indicators for a configuration of a first uplink resource to transmit data and a second uplink resource to transmit feedback;

receive, in a radio resource control idle mode, a resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource; and

transmit, in the radio resource control idle mode, a feedback message in response to the resource release message.
A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a base station, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to:

transmit, to a user equipment (UE) in a radio resource control connected mode, one or more indicators for a configuration of a first uplink resource for data and a second uplink resource for feedback;

transmit, to the UE in a radio resource control idle mode, a resource release message corresponding to the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource; and

monitor for a feedback message from the UE in the radio resource control idle mode based at least in part on the resource release message.