WO2022193252A1

WO2022193252A1 - Communication methods, terminal device, network device and computer-readable medium

Info

Publication number: WO2022193252A1
Application number: PCT/CN2021/081623
Authority: WO
Inventors: Lin Liang; Gang Wang
Original assignee: Nec Corporation
Priority date: 2021-03-18
Filing date: 2021-03-18
Publication date: 2022-09-22

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to communication methods, a terminal device, a network device, and computer readable media. A terminal device receives from a network device, allocation information indicating resource allocation for transmission of a transport block across a plurality of slots. The terminal device determines, at least based on the received allocation information, available resources for the transmission of the transport block in the plurality of slots, and determines a plurality of resource sets from the available resources by identifying consecutive resources within respective slots of the plurality of slots. Accordingly, the terminal device transmits, to the network device, a plurality of repetitions of uplink information in the transport block using the plurality of resource sets. As a result, a solution for determining resource sets for transmission of a transport block over multiple slots is provided, such that coverage enhancement for NR can be achieved.

Description

COMMUNICATION METHODS, TERMINAL DEVICE, NETWORK DEVICE AND COMPUTER-READABLE MEDIUM

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunication, and in particular, to communication methods, a terminal device, a network device, and computer-readable medium.

BACKGROUND

New radio (NR) is a new radio access technology (RAT) developed by 3 ^rd generation partnership project (3GPP) for the fifth generation (5G) . In NR, one transport block (TB) is processed within one slot or mini-slot. In order to enhance coverage for NR, TB over multiple slots (TBoMS) is one of objectives in the work item in 3GPP standard and has become one of the hot topics under discussion. As a new type of transmission, there are various aspects for TBoMS to be discussed so as to achieve coverage enhancement and other benefits in communication systems.

SUMMARY

In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for communication.

In a first aspect, there is provided a communication method. The method comprises: receiving, by a terminal device and from a network device, allocation information indicating resource allocation for transmission of a transport block across a plurality of slots; determining, at least based on the received allocation information, available resources for the transmission of the transport block in the plurality of slots; determining a plurality of resource sets for the transport block from the available resources by identifying consecutive resources within respective slots of the plurality of slots, each of the plurality of resource sets comprising a plurality of consecutive resources within one of the plurality of slots; and transmitting, to the network device, a plurality of repetitions of uplink information in the transport block using the plurality of resource sets.

In a second aspect, there is provided a communication method. The method comprises: transmitting, by a network device and to a terminal device, allocation information indicating enablement of processing of a transport block across a plurality of slots is enabled or disabled and resource allocation for transmission of the transport block across the plurality of slots; and in response to the allocation information indicating the enablement of the processing of the transport block across the plurality of slots is enabled, receiving, from the terminal device, a plurality of repetitions of uplink information in the transport block using a plurality of resource sets in the plurality of slots, each of the plurality of resource sets comprising a plurality of consecutive resources within one of the plurality of slots.

In a third aspect, there is provided a terminal device. The terminal device includes a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor and storing instructions thereon, the instructions, when executed by the processor, causing the terminal device to perform the method according to the first aspect.

In a fourth aspect, there is provided a network device. The network device includes a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor and storing instructions thereon, the instructions, when executed by the processor, causing the network device to perform the method according to the second aspect.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided a computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when executed on at least one processor, causing the at least one processor to carry out the method according to the first aspect.

In a sixth aspect, there is provided a computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when executed on at least one processor, causing the at least one processor to carry out the method according to the second aspect.

Other features of the present disclosure will become easily comprehensible through the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Through the more detailed description of some example embodiments of the present disclosure in the accompanying drawings, the above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent, where:

Fig. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a communication network in which embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented;

Fig. 2 illustrates a signaling flow for transport block mapping in uplink transmission in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

Figs. 3A-3B are diagrams illustrating examples of determining resource sets for uplink transmission in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 4 illustrates a flow chart of an example communication method implemented at a terminal device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 5 illustrates a flow chart of an example communication method implemented at a network device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

Fig. 6 is a simplified block diagram of a device that is suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar element.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Principle of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some embodiments. It is to be understood that these embodiments are described only for the purpose of illustration and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitations as to the scope of the disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various manners other than the ones described below.

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

As used herein, the term “terminal device” refers to any device having wireless or wired communication capabilities. Examples of the terminal device include, but is not limited to, user equipments (UE) , personal computers, desktops, mobile phones, cellular phones, smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) , portable computers, tablets, wearable devices, internet of things (IoT) devices, Internet of Everything (IoE) devices, machine type communication (MTC) devices, device on vehicle for V2X communication where X means pedestrian, vehicle, or infrastructure/network, or image capture devices such as digital cameras, gaming devices, music storage and playback appliances, or Internet appliances enabling wireless or wired Internet access and browsing and the like.

The term “terminal device” can be used interchangeably with a UE, a mobile station, a subscriber station, a mobile terminal, a user terminal or a wireless device. In addition, the term “network device” refers to a device which is capable of providing or hosting a cell or coverage where terminal devices can communicate. Examples of a network device include, but not limited to, a Node B (NodeB or NB) , an Evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB) , a next generation NodeB (gNB) , a Transmission Reception Point (TRP) , a Remote Radio Unit (RRU) , a radio head (RH) , a remote radio head (RRH) , a low power node such as a femto node, a pico node, and the like.

In one embodiment, the terminal device may be connected with a first network device and a second network device. One of the first network device and the second network device may be a master node and the other one may be a secondary node. The first network device and the second network device may use different radio access technologies (RATs) . In one embodiment, the first network device may be a first RAT device and the second network device may be a second RAT device. In one embodiment, the first RAT device is eNB and the second RAT device is gNB. Information related with different RATs may be transmitted to the terminal device from at least one of the first network device and the second network device. In one embodiment, first information may be transmitted to the terminal device from the first network device and second information may be transmitted to the terminal device from the second network device directly or via the first network device. In one embodiment, information related with configuration for the terminal device configured by the second network device may be transmitted from the second network device via the first network device. Information related with reconfiguration for the terminal device configured by the second network device may be transmitted to the terminal device from the second network device directly or via the first network device.

The term “circuitry” used herein may refer to hardware circuits and/or combinations of hardware circuits and software. For example, the circuitry may be a combination of analog and/or digital hardware circuits with software/firmware. As a further example, the circuitry may be any portions of hardware processors with software including digital signal processor (s) , software, and memory (memories) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a terminal device or a network device, to perform various functions. In a still further example, the circuitry may be hardware circuits and or processors, such as a microprocessor or a portion of a microprocessor, that requires software/firmware for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation. As used herein, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (s) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor (s) and its (or their) accompanying software and/or firmware.

As used herein, the singular forms ‘a’ , ‘an’ and ‘the’ are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The term ‘includes’ and its variants are to be read as open terms that mean ‘includes, but is not limited to. ’ The term ‘based on’ is to be read as ‘at least in part based on. ’ The term ‘one embodiment’ and ‘an embodiment’ are to be read as ‘at least one embodiment. ’ The term ‘another embodiment’ is to be read as ‘at least one other embodiment. ’ The terms ‘first, ’ ‘second, ’ and the like may refer to different or same objects. Other definitions, explicit and implicit, may be included below.

In some examples, values, procedures, or apparatus are referred to as ‘best, ’ ‘lowest, ’ ‘highest, ’ ‘minimum, ’ ‘maximum, ’ or the like. It will be appreciated that such descriptions are intended to indicate that a selection among many used functional alternatives can be made, and such selections need not be better, smaller, higher, or otherwise preferable to other selections.

Fig. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a communication system 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. The communication system 100, which is a part of a communication network, includes a terminal device 110-1, a terminal device 110-2, ..., a terminal device 110-N, which can be collectively referred to as “terminal device (s) 110. ” The number N may be any suitable integer number.

The communication system 100 further includes a network device 120. In some embodiments, the network device 120 may be a gNB. Alternatively, the network device 120 may be IAB. Although not shown, there may also be more than one network device in the communication system 100.

In the communication system 100, the network devices 120 and the terminal devices 110 may communicate data and control information to each other. The numbers of terminal devices 110 and network devices 120 shown in Fig. 1 are given for the purpose of illustration without suggesting any limitations.

Communications in the communication system 100 may be implemented according to any proper communication protocol (s) , including, but not limited to, cellular communication protocols of the first generation (1G) , the second generation (2G) , the third generation (3G) , the fourth generation (4G) and the fifth generation (5G) and on the like, wireless local network communication protocols such as Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 and the like, and/or any other protocols currently known or to be developed in the future. Moreover, the communication may utilize any proper wireless communication technology, including but not limited to: code divided multiple address (CDMA) , frequency divided multiple address (FDMA) , time divided multiple address (TDMA) , frequency divided duplexer (FDD) , time divided duplexer (TDD) , multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) , orthogonal frequency divided multiple access (OFDMA) and/or any other technologies currently known or to be developed in the future.

As mentioned above, in conventional communication networks, one TB is only processed within one slot/mini-slot. In order to enhance coverage, TBoMS is currently proposed, which allows a transport block to be processed over more than one slot. The communication mechanisms for TBoMS may need to be carefully designed, including resource allocation, resource mapping, TB size (TBS) determination, mapping modulation samples into allocated resources, and the like. Example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for TBoMS mapping among allocated resource, which will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Reference is now made to Fig. 2, which illustrates a signaling flow 200 for transport block mapping in accordance with example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the signaling flow 200 will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Only for the purpose of illustrations, the signaling flow 200 may involve a terminal device 110 and a network device 120.

As shown in Fig. 2, the network device 120 transmits 205 allocation information to the terminal device 110. The allocation information indicates resource allocation for transmission of a transport block across a plurality of slots. As the transmission of a transport block is to be performed across a plurality of slots, such a transport block is referred to as a transport block over multiple slots (TBoMS) . In some embodiments, the resource allocation may include resource allocation for a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) .

In some embodiments, the network device 120 may transmit the allocation information to the terminal device 110 via downlink control information (DCI) . In some embodiments, the allocation information may be included in other downlink signaling provided to the terminal device 110. Accordingly, the terminal device 110 receives 210 the allocation information from the network device 120.

The resource allocation is used by the terminal device 110 to determine resources allocated by the network device 120 for uplink transmission in a transport block. The resource allocation may indicate one or more parameters to determine the allocated resources. In some example embodiments, the resource allocation may indicate a start point, a resource length for a nominal repetition, and the number of nominal repetitions for the transmission of the transport block. For example, the start point may be a start symbol, and the resource length for the nominal repetition may be the symbol length in each nominal repetition, for example, the symbols. In some examples, the number of nominal repetitions for the transmission of the transport block may be 1, 2, 3 and the like. In some example embodiments, the resource allocation may indicate a start point and an end point of allocated resources in time domain, or may indicate a start point and a resource length of the allocated resource. It should be appreciated that the resource allocation may also indicate other information and the protection scope is not limited in this regard.

Upon receiving the allocation information, the terminal device 110 determines 220, at least based on the received allocation information, available resources for the transmission of the transport block in the plurality of slots. The available resources are those that are allocated by the network device 120 and are available for uplink transmission in the slots. In some examples, a resource may include a symbol in a slot.

As the available resources may be distributed in varies different ways in time domain across the slots, the terminal device 110 may further determine how the available resources are used for transmission of the transport block over the slots. Specifically, the terminal device 110 determines 230 a plurality of resource sets for the transport block from the available resources by identifying consecutive resources within respective slots of the plurality of slots. Each of the plurality of resource sets includes a plurality of consecutive resources within one of the plurality of slots. In an example, the consecutive resources may be consecutive symbols in a slot.

A resource set may sometimes be considered as a resource unit for transmission of the transport block across the plurality of slots, also referred to as a TBoMS resource unit. The terminal device 110 transmits 240, to the network device 120, a plurality of repetitions of uplink information in the transport block using the plurality of resource sets. Each repetition of the uplink information is transmitted using one of the resource sets. Accordingly, the network device 120 receives 245 the plurality of repetitions of uplink information in the transport block over the plurality of resource sets. In some embodiments, the uplink information to be transmitted may include PUSCH information. It should be appreciated that the uplink information may additionally or alternatively include any other user data or control information transmitted from the terminal device 110 to the network device 120.

According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, a solution for determining resource sets for a transport block for TBoMS transmission is provided, such that coverage enhancement for NR can be achieved with TBoMS. In determining the resource sets for TBoMS transmission, according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, it is required to include as many as consecutive resources within one slot for each transmission repetition. Meanwhile, since consecutive resources (e.g., symbols) allocated for TBoMS transmission within a slot is generated as only one resource set for TBoMS; during the transmission for for TBoMS, there will be as less resource sets as possible within across the slots.

Some embodiments of the determination of the resource sets for the repetitions will be discussed in detailed. For better understanding, references will be made to Figs. 3A and 3B. However, it should be appreciated that, there may also be other ways for determining the plurality of resource sets and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

Specifically, in some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine, based on the resource allocation indicated in the allocation information, resources allocated for the transmission of the transport block in the plurality of slots.

As mentioned above, the resource allocation may indicate parameters such as a start point, a resource length for a nominal repetition, and the number of nominal repetitions for the transmission of the transport block. Fig. 3A illustrates an example of determining resource sets for transport block transmission according to such resource allocation. As shown in Fig. 3A, the resource allocated for the transmission of the transport block in a plurality of

slots

301, 302 and 303 includes allocated resources for

nominal repetitions

311, 312 and 313. That is, the terminal device 110 may determine a first nominal repetition 311 based on the start point and the resource length for the nominal repetition 311 mentioned above. Accordingly, for example, if the number of repetitions for the transmission of the transport block is configured to be 3, it means that there are 3 nominal repetitions in total. That is, there will be two other

nominal repetitions

312 and 313 following the nominal repetition 311, having the same resource length as the nominal repetition 311.

The terminal device 110 may determine whether the allocated resources include an invalid resource. An invalid resource (e.g., an invalid symbol) cannot be utilized for uplink transmission although it is considered to be allocated to the terminal device 110 according to the resource allocation from the network device 120. In some examples, an invalid resource in a slot may be the one that is configured for downlink transmission or for other usage. If the allocated resources include one or more invalid resources, the terminal device 110 may exclude the invalid resource (s) from the allocated resources, and the remaining allocated resources are available resources for the uplink transmission.

For example, as shown in Fig. 3A, an invalid resource (s) exists in slot 302. As such, the invalid resource (s) will be excluded from the allocated resources. Although an invalid resource (s) is shown in Fig. 3A and the invalid resource (s) is in slot 302, it should be appreciated that there may also be any other number of invalid resources and the invalid resource (s) may also locate at any other location in the allocated

resources

311, 312 and 313. By excluding the invalid resource (s) , as shown in Fig. 3A, available resources in

slots

301, 302, and 303 are determined, including

available resources

321, 323, 325, 327, 328, and 329 as illustrated.

The plurality of resource sets used for the repetitions of the uplink information are determined from the available resource. In some embodiments, to determine the plurality of resource sets, for a given slot of the plurality of slots, the terminal device 110 may identify from the available resources, a plurality of available resources within the given slot. For example, in Fig. 3A, for slot 301, the terminal device 110 may identify, among all the available resources, a plurality of available resources 321 within slot 301. Similarly, for slot 302, the terminal device 110 may identify a plurality of

available resources

323, 325, 327, 328; and for slot 303, the terminal device 110 may identify a plurality of available resources 329 from the available resources.

In some embodiments, if it is determined that there is no unavailable resource between any two of the plurality of available resources in the given slot, the terminal device 110 may combine the plurality of available resources into a resource set for a repetition of the transmission of the transport block. As used herein, an unavailable resource may be the one that cannot be used for uplink transmission. An unavailable resource may include an invalid resource mentioned above or a resource that is allocated by the network device 120 to the terminal device 110 for the uplink transmission.

In the example of Fig. 3A, the terminal device 110 may determine that there is no unavailable resource between the plurality of available resources 321 in slot 301 and in such case, the terminal device 110 may combine the plurality of available resources 321 into a resource set 331 for the transmission of the transport block. Further, the terminal device 110 may determine that there is no unavailable resource between the plurality of available resources in 329 in slot 303, the terminal device 110 may combine the plurality of available resources 329 into a resource set 334 for a repetition of the transmission of the transport block.

Further, if it is determined that at least two of the plurality of available resources are separated by at least one unavailable resource in the given slot, the terminal device 110 may divide the plurality of available resources into at least two resource sets for the transmission of the transport block based on the separating of the plurality of available resources by the at least one unavailable resource, for example, based on the location of the at least one unavailable resource within the given slot. For example, as shown in Fig. 3A, it is determined that not all the

available resources

323, 325, 327, and 328 are consecutive in slot 302 but are separated by an unavailable resource (s) (e.g., the invalid resource (s) ) . In this case, the terminal device 110 may determine that the available resources (consecutive resources) 323, 325 can be included and combined into a resource set 332 as they are consecutive in slot 302. The last one of the available resources 325 is separated from the first one of the available resources 327 by the invalid resource (s) , and thus the terminal device 110 may determine that the available resources 327 and its following available resources 328 can be included and combined into another resource set 333 as they are consecutive in slot 302. In other words,

resources

327 and 328 are the consecutive resources under some specific circumstances and could be combined into a resource set (for example, the resource set 332) .

In some embodiments,

resources

323 and 325 could be named as subsets of the resource set 332 and

resources

327 and 328 could be named as subsets of the resource set 333.

As a result, as shown in Fig. 3A, a plurality of resource sets, including the resource sets 331, 332, 333, and 334 are determined for transmission of the transport block across

slots

301, 302, and 303. Each of the resource sets 331, 332, 333, and 334 contains as many as consecutive resources within one slot.

Conventionally, for uplink transmission of a conventional transport block over a single slot, the

available resources

323 and 325 may be fragmented and used for two actual transmissions although those resources are consecutive within one slot, and the

available resources

327 and 328 may also be determined for two actual transmissions although they are consecutive within one slot. This is because if the allocated resources for one nominal repletion are distributed across two slots, those resources should be used in two actual transmissions in the case of transport block over one slot.

However, according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, consecutive resources within one slot are combined into one resource set for one actual transmission, such that the total number of actual transmissions of a transport block is reduced and the performance of transmission can be enhanced.

As mentioned above, the resource allocation may alternatively indicate parameters such as a start point and an end point of the allocated resources in time domain, or may indicate a start point and a resource length of the allocated resource. Fig. 3B illustrates another example of determining resource sets for transport block transmission according to such resource allocation. As shown in Fig. 3B, the terminal device 110 may determine the allocated resources 314 in

slots

301, 302, and 303 according to the start point and the end point indicated by the resource allocation. Alternatively, the terminal device 110 may also determine the allocated resources 314 in

slots

301, 302, and 303 according to the start point and the resource length indicated by the resource allocation.

The terminal device 110 may determine whether the allocated resources 314 include an invalid resource (s) (e.g., an invalid symbol (s) allocated for downlink transmission) . For example, as shown in Fig. 3B, there is an invalid resource (s) in the allocated resources 314. Then, the invalid resource (s) may be excluded from the allocated resources 314, and the remaining allocated resources are determined as available for transmission.

Similarly, as mentioned above, although the invalid resource (s) is shown in Fig. 3B as in slot 302, it should be appreciated that there may also be any other number of invalid resources and the invalid resource (s) may be at any other location in slot 302 or other slots.

In some embodiments, as shown in Fig. 3B, the terminal device 110 may identify the available resources within a given slot. For example, for slot 301, the terminal device 110 may identify a plurality of available resources 341 among all the available resources. In addition, for slot 302, the terminal device 110 may identify available resources 343 and 345; and for slot 303, the terminal device 110 may identify available resources 347.

In some embodiments, it is determined that there is no unavailable resource between any two of the plurality of available resources in the given slot, the terminal device 110 may combine the plurality of available resources into a resource set for the transmission of the transport block. For example, as shown in Fig. 3B, it is determined that there is no unavailable resource between the available resources 341 in slot 301, the plurality of available resources 343 in slot 302, the plurality of available resources 345 in slot 302, and the plurality of available resources 347 in slot 303, the terminal device 110 may include the

available resources

341, 343, 345 and 347 into a plurality of resource sets 351, 352, 353 and 354, respectively, for respective repetitions of transmission of the transport block.

Further, as shown in Fig. 3B, for slot 302, it is also determined that the plurality of available resources 343 and the plurality of available resources 345 are separated by an unavailable resource (s) , the terminal device 110 may divide them into two resource sets (i.e., resource sets 352 and 353) for the transmission of the transport block based on the separating of the plurality of available resources by the unavailable resource (or unavailable resources) .

As a result, a plurality of resource sets (e.g., the resource sets 351, 352, 353, and 354 as shown in Fig. 3B) are determined for transmission of the transport block.

In the above part, embodiments for determining the plurality of resource sets for transmission are illustrated with reference to Figs. 3A and 3B. In the following part, some embodiments related to enabling/configuration of processing of the transport block across the plurality of slots (or may also be called TBoMS) .

In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine whether processing of the transport block across the plurality of slots is enabled. If it is determined that the processing of the transport block across the plurality of slots is enabled, the terminal device 110 may determine the plurality of resource sets by identifying consecutive resources within the respective slots of the plurality of slots. As such, the processing of the transport block across the plurality of slots (or TBoMS) may be enabled or disabled flexibly according to the requirements.

For example, TBoMS enablement/disablement may be configured according to the location of the user. In this example, if a user is located at the boarder of a cell, there might be more interference and the quality of the radio link might be not satisfied. As such, TBoMS which has the benefit of coverage enhancement may be preferred. When the user moves to the center of the cell where there is a good channel quality with the network device, TBoMS might be disabled for the terminal device of that user. In another example, TBoMS enablement/disablement may also be provided based on different priorities of subscribers/services. Further, there may be other scenarios in which TBoMS may be enabled or disabled and the scope is not limited in this regard.

In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine, based on the allocation information, whether processing of the transport block across the plurality of slots is enabled. In such embodiments, the network device 120 may transmit the allocation information to the terminal device 110. The allocation information may indicate whether processing of a transport block across a plurality of slots is enabled or disabled and further indicate the resource allocation for transmission of the transport block across the plurality of slots. If the allocation information indicates that processing of the transport block across a plurality of slots is enabled, the terminal device 110 may determine, from the allocation information, the enablement of the processing of the transport block across the plurality of slots and thus will determine the resource sets for the transmission of the transport block according to the example embodiments discussed above.

In the above embodiments, for example, a radio resource control (RRC) message may be used to configure PUSCH resource allocation. The enablement or disablement of TBoMS may be indicated via the allocation list.

An example of the allocation list is as below:

In the above example, the field “TBoMS ENUMERATED {enable} ” may be used to indicate whether to enable TBoMS or not. Further, the field “TBoMS ENUMERATED {n2, n3, n4, n8} ” may be used to indicate the number of repetitions for TBoMS.

In this way, the network device 120 may transmit DCI to the terminal device 110, so as to dynamically indicate whether TBoMS is enabled or not based on the time domain field in DCI which gives better flexibility on resource allocation adaptation. Further, since the possible numbers of repetitions for TBoMS are included in the above mentioned allocation list via RRC, it is only needed to indicate in DCI which one in the list is to be used and no need to indicate explicitly the numbers of repetitions for TBoMS, thereby reducing DCI overhead.

Accordingly, in response to the allocation information indicating the processing of the transport block across the plurality of slots is enabled, the network device 120 may receive, from the terminal device 110, a plurality of repetitions of uplink information in the transport block using a plurality of resource sets in the plurality of slots. Each of the plurality of resource sets includes a plurality of consecutive resources within one of the plurality of slots.

In some embodiments, TBoMS enablement/disablement may also be configured to be aligned with the number of repetitions on which TB processing over such that TBoMS enable/disable does not need to be configured separately which saves overload.

In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may further generate the plurality of repetitions of uplink information by determining respective redundancy versions (RVs) for the plurality of repetitions of uplink information in a time sequence of the plurality of resource sets. For example, if there are four \RVs indexed by RV0, RV1, RV2 and RV3, the terminal device 110 may determine RV0 for the repetition of uplink information transmitted using the resource set 331, RV1 for the repetition of uplink information transmitted using the resource set 332, RV2 for the repetition of uplink information transmitted using the resource set 333, and RV3 for the repetition of uplink information transmitted using the resource set 334.

In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may further determine demodulation reference signal (DMRS) symbols for the plurality of repetitions of uplink information based on the respective numbers of resources in the plurality of resource sets. For example, the terminal device 110 may determine the number of resources in the resource set 331 and select a suitable amount of DMRS symbols to be included in the repetition of uplink transmission using the resource set 331. The DMRS symbols for the repetitions of uplink information using other resource sets may be similarly determined. Less DMRS symbols may be required in the TBoMS transmission over those resource sets as compared with the transmission a transport block over one slot in which DMRS symbols may be determined for each group of

available resources

321, 323, 325, 327, 328 and 329.

Accordingly, DMRS and/or RV is determined per the TBoMS resource set, DMRS overhead and RV miss match that result in lower link level performance in PUSCH repetition type B are reduced. Better link level performance is obtained so that coverage will be enhanced for this TBoMS transmission.

Accordingly, since consecutive symbols allocated for TBoMS transmission within a slot generates one TBoMS resource set, and the determination of DMRS and RV is based on the generated TBoMS resource set, DMRS overhead and RV miss match, resulting in lower link level performance in PUSCH repetition transmission is reduced. Better link level performance is obtained such that coverage will be enhanced for this TBoMS transmission.

Fig. 4 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 400 in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 400 can be implemented at a terminal device 110 as shown in Fig. 1. It is to be understood that the method 400 may include additional blocks not shown and/or may omit some blocks as shown, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard. For the purpose of discussion, the method 400 will be described from the perspective of the terminal device 110 with reference to Fig. 1.

At block 410, a terminal device receives, from a network device, allocation information indicating resource allocation for transmission of a transport block across a plurality of slots. Then, at block 420, the terminal device determines, at least based on the received allocation information, available resources for the transmission of the transport block in the plurality of slots. Subsequently, at block 430, the terminal device determines a plurality of resource sets for the transport block from the available resources by identifying consecutive resources within respective slots of the plurality of slots, where each of the plurality of resource sets includes a plurality of consecutive resources within one of the plurality of slots. Accordingly, the terminal device transmits, to the network device, a plurality of repetitions of uplink information in the transport block using the plurality of resource sets.

In some embodiments, determining the available resources comprises: determining, based on the allocation information, resources allocated for the transmission of the transport block in the plurality of slots, determining whether the allocated resources comprise at least one invalid resource; and in accordance with a determination that the allocated resources comprise at least one invalid resource, excluding the at least one invalid resource from the allocated resources to obtain the available resources.

In some embodiments, the resource allocation indicates a start point, a resource length for a nominal repetition, and the number of nominal repetitions for the transmission of the transport block.

In some embodiments, determining the plurality of resource sets comprises: for a given slot of the plurality of slots, identifying, from the available resources, a plurality of available resources within the given slot; in accordance with a determination that there is no unavailable resource between any two of the plurality of available resources in the given slot, combining the plurality of available resources into a resource set for the transmission of the transport block; and in accordance with a determination that at least two of the plurality of available resources are separated by at least one unavailable resource in the given slot, dividing the plurality of available resources into at least two resource sets for the transmission of the transport block based on the separating of the plurality of available resources by the at least one unavailable resource.

In some embodiments, determining the plurality of resource sets comprises: determining whether processing of the transport block across the plurality of slots is enabled; and in accordance with a determination that the processing of the transport block across the plurality of slots is enabled, determining the plurality of resource sets by identifying consecutive resources within the respective slots of the plurality of slots.

In some embodiments, the allocation information further indicates enablement of the processing of the transport block across the plurality of slots is enabled or disabled, and determining whether processing of the transport block across the plurality of slots is enabled comprises: determining, based on the allocation information, that the processing of the transport block across the plurality of slots is enabled.

In some embodiments, receiving the allocation information comprises: receiving downlink control information (DCI) from the network device, the DCI comprising the allocation information.

In some embodiments, the method 40 further comprising: generating the plurality of repetitions of uplink information by at least one of the following: determining respective redundancy versions for the plurality of repetitions of uplink information in a time sequence of the plurality of resource sets, and determining demodulation reference signal (DMRS) symbols for the plurality of repetitions of uplink information based on the respective numbers of resources in the plurality of resource sets.

Fig. 5 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 500 in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 500 can be implemented at the network device 120 as shown in Fig. 1. It is to be understood that the method 500 may include additional blocks not shown and/or may omit some blocks as shown, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard. For the purpose of discussion, the method 500 will be described from the perspective of the network device 120 with reference to Fig. 1.

At block 510, the network device 120 transmits to a terminal device, allocation information indicating enablement of processing of a transport block across a plurality of slots is enabled or disabled and resource allocation for transmission of the transport block across the plurality of slots. Then, at block 520, in response to the allocation information indicating the enablement of the processing of the transport block across the plurality of slots is enabled, the network device 120 receives, from the terminal device, a plurality of repetitions of uplink information in the transport block using a plurality of resource sets in the plurality of slots, each of the plurality of resource sets comprising a plurality of consecutive resources within one of the plurality of slots.

In some embodiments, transmitting the allocation information comprises: transmitting downlink control information (DCI) to the terminal device, the DCI comprising the allocation information.

In some embodiments, a terminal device (for example, the terminal device 110) includes circuitry configured to: receive, by a terminal device and from a network device, allocation information indicating resource allocation for transmission of a transport block across a plurality of slots; determine, at least based on the received allocation information, available resources for the transmission of the transport block in the plurality of slots; determine a plurality of resource sets for the transport block from the available resources by identifying consecutive resources within respective slots of the plurality of slots, each of the plurality of resource sets comprising a plurality of consecutive resources within one of the plurality of slots; and transmit, to the network device, a plurality of repetitions of uplink information in the transport block using the plurality of resource sets.

In some embodiments, in determining the available resources, the circuitry may be configured to: determine, based on the allocation information, resources allocated for the transmission of the transport block in the plurality of slots; determine whether the allocated resources comprise at least one invalid resource; and in accordance with a determination that the allocated resources comprise at least one invalid resource, exclude the at least one invalid resource from the allocated resources, to obtain the available resources.

In some embodiments, in determining the plurality of resource sets: for a given slot of the plurality of slots, the circuitry may be configured to: identify, from the available resources, a plurality of available resources within the given slot; in accordance with a determination that there is no unavailable resource between any two of the plurality of available resources in the given slot, combine the plurality of available resources into a resource set for the transmission of the transport block; and in accordance with a determination that at least two of the plurality of available resources are separated by at least one unavailable resource in the given slot, dividing the plurality of available resources into at least two resource sets for the transmission of the transport block based on the separate of the plurality of available resources by the at least one unavailable resource.

In some embodiments, in determining the plurality of resource sets, the circuitry may be configured to: determine whether processing of the transport block across the plurality of slots is enabled; and in accordance with a determination that the processing of the transport block across the plurality of slots is enabled, determine the plurality of resource sets by identifying consecutive resources within the respective slots of the plurality of slots.

In some embodiments, the allocation information further indicates whether the processing of the transport block across the plurality of slots is enabled or disabled, and in determining whether processing of the transport block across the plurality of slots is enabled, the circuitry may be further configured to: determine, based on the allocation information, whether processing of the transport block across the plurality of slots is enabled.

In some embodiments, in receiving the allocation information, the circuitry is further configured to: receive downlink control information (DCI) from the network device, the DCI comprising the allocation information.

In some embodiments, the circuitry is further configured to: generate the plurality of repetitions of uplink information by at least one of the following: determining respective redundancy versions for the plurality of repetitions of uplink information in a time sequence of the plurality of resource sets, and determining demodulation reference signal (DMRS) symbols for the plurality of repetitions of uplink information based on the respective numbers of resources in the plurality of resource sets.

In some embodiments, the uplink information comprises information for a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) .

In some embodiments, a network device (for example, the network device 120) includes circuitry configured to: transmit, by a network device and to a terminal device, allocation information indicating whether processing of a transport block across a plurality of slots is enabled or disabled and resource allocation for transmission of a transport block across a plurality of slots; and in response to the allocation information indicating the processing of the transport block across the plurality of slots is enabled, receive, from the terminal device, a plurality of repetitions of uplink information in the transport block using a plurality of resource sets in the plurality of slots, each of the plurality of resource sets comprising a plurality of consecutive resources within one of the plurality of slots.

In some embodiments, in transmitting the allocation information, the circuitry may be further configured to transmit downlink control information (DCI) to the terminal device, the DCI comprising the allocation information.

Fig. 6 is a simplified block diagram of a device 600 that is suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 600 can be considered as a further example implementation of the terminal device 110 or the network device 120 as shown in Fig. 1. Accordingly, the device 600 can be implemented at or as at least a part of the terminal device 110 or the network device 120.

As shown, the device 600 includes a processor 610, a memory 620 coupled to the processor 610, a suitable transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX) 640 coupled to the processor 610, and a communication interface coupled to the TX/RX 640. The memory 610 stores at least a part of a program 630. The TX/RX 640 is for bidirectional communications. The TX/RX 640 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication, though in practice an Access Node mentioned in this application may have several ones. The communication interface may represent any interface that is necessary for communication with other network elements, such as X2 interface for bidirectional communications between eNBs, S1 interface for communication between a Mobility Management Entity (MME) /Serving Gateway (S-GW) and the eNB, Un interface for communication between the eNB and a relay node (RN) , or Uu interface for communication between the eNB and a terminal device.

The program 630 is assumed to include program instructions that, when executed by the associated processor 610, enable the device 600 to operate in accordance with the embodiments of the present disclosure, as discussed herein with reference to Figs. 2-5. The embodiments herein may be implemented by computer software executable by the processor 610 of the device 600, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The processor 610 may be configured to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure. Furthermore, a combination of the processor 610 and memory 610 may form processing means 650 adapted to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure.

The memory 610 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory, as non-limiting examples. While only one memory 610 is shown in the device 600, there may be several physically distinct memory modules in the device 600. The processor 610 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network, and may include one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The device 600 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock which synchronizes the main processor.

Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. While various aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other pictorial representation, it will be appreciated that the blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, being executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor, to carry out the process or method as described above with reference to Figs. 2-6. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, or the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired in various embodiments. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

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

The above program code may be embodied on a machine readable medium, which may be any tangible medium that may contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The machine readable medium may be a machine readable signal medium or a machine readable storage medium. A machine readable medium may include but not limited to an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of the machine readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM) , a read-only memory (ROM) , an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory) , an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) , an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

Further, while operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Likewise, while several specific implementation details are contained in the above discussions, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

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

Claims

A communication method comprising:

receiving, by a terminal device and from a network device, allocation information indicating resource allocation for transmission of a transport block across a plurality of slots;

determining, at least based on the received allocation information, available resources for the transmission of the transport block in the plurality of slots;

determining a plurality of resource sets for the transport block from the available resources by identifying consecutive resources within respective slots of the plurality of slots, each of the plurality of resource sets comprising a plurality of consecutive resources within one of the plurality of slots; and

transmitting, to the network device, a plurality of repetitions of uplink information in the transport block using the plurality of resource sets.
The method of claim 1, wherein determining the available resources comprises:

determining, based on the allocation information, resources allocated for the transmission of the transport block in the plurality of slots;

determining whether the allocated resources comprise at least one invalid resource; and

in accordance with a determination that the allocated resources comprise at least one invalid resource, excluding the at least one invalid resource from the allocated resources to obtain the available resources.
The method of claim 1, wherein the resource allocation indicates a start point, a resource length for a nominal repetition, and the number of nominal repetitions for the transmission of the transport block.
The method of claim 1, wherein determining the plurality of resource sets comprises: for a given slot of the plurality of slots,

identifying, from the available resources, a plurality of available resources within the given slot;

in accordance with a determination that there is no unavailable resource between any two of the plurality of available resources in the given slot, combining the plurality of available resources into a resource set for the transmission of the transport block; and

in accordance with a determination that at least two of the plurality of available resources are separated by at least one unavailable resource in the given slot, dividing the plurality of available resources into at least two resource sets for the transmission of the transport block based on the separating of the plurality of available resources by the at least one unavailable resource.
The method of claim 1, wherein determining the plurality of resource sets comprises:

determining whether processing of the transport block across the plurality of slots is enabled; and

in accordance with a determination that the processing of the transport block across the plurality of slots is enabled, determining the plurality of resource sets by identifying consecutive resources within the respective slots of the plurality of slots.
The method of claim 5, wherein the allocation information further indicates enablement of the processing of the transport block across the plurality of slots, and

wherein determining whether processing of the transport block across the plurality of slots is enabled comprises:

determining, based on the allocation information, that the processing of the transport block across the plurality of slots is enabled.
The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the allocation information comprises:

receiving downlink control information (DCI) from the network device, the DCI comprising the allocation information.
The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating the plurality of repetitions of uplink information by at least one of the following:

determining respective redundancy versions for the plurality of repetitions of uplink information in a time sequence of the plurality of resource sets, and

determining demodulation reference signal (DMRS) symbols for the plurality of repetitions of uplink information based on respective numbers of resources in the plurality of resource sets.
A communication method comprising:

transmitting, by a network device and to a terminal device, allocation information indicating enablement of processing of a transport block across a plurality of slots and resource allocation for transmission of the transport block across the plurality of slots; and

in response to the allocation information indicating the enablement of the processing of the transport block across the plurality of slots, receiving, from the terminal device, a plurality of repetitions of uplink information in the transport block using a plurality of resource sets in the plurality of slots, each of the plurality of resource sets comprising a plurality of consecutive resources within one of the plurality of slots.
The method of claim 9, wherein the resource allocation indicates a start point, a resource length for a nominal repetition, and the number of nominal repetitions for the transmission of the transport block.
The method of claim 9, wherein transmitting the allocation information comprises:

transmitting downlink control information (DCI) to the terminal device, the DCI comprising the allocation information.
A terminal device, comprising:

a processing unit; and

a memory coupled to the processing unit and storing instructions thereon, the instructions, when executed by the processing unit, causing the device to perform the method according to any of claims 1-8.
A network device, comprising:

a processing unit; and

a memory coupled to the processing unit and storing instructions thereon, the instructions, when executed by the processing unit, causing the device to perform the method according to any of claims 9-11.
A computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when executed on at least one processor, causing the at least one processor to carry out the method according to any of claims 1-8.
A computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when executed on at least one processor, causing the at least one processor to carry out the method according to any of claims 9-11.