WO2023056645A1

WO2023056645A1 - Methods and apparatuses of resource allocation for sidelink communication systems

Info

Publication number: WO2023056645A1
Application number: PCT/CN2021/122914
Authority: WO
Inventors: Xin Guo; Haipeng Lei; Zhennian SUN; Xiaodong Yu; Haiming Wang
Original assignee: Lenovo (Beijing) Limited
Priority date: 2021-10-09
Filing date: 2021-10-09
Publication date: 2023-04-13

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to methods and apparatuses of a resource allocation for sidelink communication systems. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a UE includes a processor and a wireless transceiver coupled to the processor; and the processor of the UE is configured: to obtain an indication indicating a resource reservation pattern of the UE, wherein the resource reservation pattern is a slot level resource reservation pattern or a sub-slot level resource reservation pattern; and to transmit, to other UE, the indication via the wireless transceiver over a sidelink of the UE.

Description

METHODS AND APPARATUSES OF RESOURCE ALLOCATION FOR SIDELINK COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present application are related to wireless communication technology, and more particularly, related to methods and apparatuses of resource allocation for sidelink communication systems.

BACKGROUND

A sidelink is a long-term evolution (LTE) feature introduced in 3GPP Release 12, and enables a direct communication between proximal UEs, and data does not need to go through a base station (BS) or a core network. A sidelink communication system has been introduced into 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) 5G wireless communication technology, in which a direct link between two user equipments (UEs) is called a sidelink (SL) .

3GPP 5G networks are expected to increase network throughput, coverage and reliability and to reduce latency and power consumption. With the development of 3GPP 5G networks, various aspects need to be studied and developed to perfect the 5G technology. Currently, details regarding resource allocation for sidelink communication systems need to be further discussed in 3GPP 5G technology.

SUMMARY

Some embodiments of the present application also provide a user equipment (UE) . The UE includes a processor and a wireless transceiver coupled to the processor; and the processor is configured: to obtain, based on configuration or pre-configuration, an indication indicating a resource reservation pattern of the UE, wherein the resource reservation pattern is a slot level resource reservation pattern or a sub-slot level resource reservation pattern; and to transmit, to other UE, the indication via the wireless transceiver over a sidelink of the UE.

Some embodiments of the present application provide a method, which may be performed by a UE. The method includes: obtaining, based on configuration or pre-configuration, an indication indicating a resource reservation pattern of the UE, wherein the resource reservation pattern is a slot level resource reservation pattern or a sub-slot level resource reservation pattern; and transmitting, to other UE, the indication over a sidelink of the UE.

Some embodiments of the present application provide an apparatus. The apparatus includes: a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions, a receiving circuitry; a transmitting circuitry; and a processor coupled to the non-transitory computer-readable medium, the receiving circuitry and the transmitting circuitry, wherein the computer-executable instructions cause the processor to implement the abovementioned method performed by a UE.

Some embodiments of the present application also provide a network node (e.g., a BS) . The network node includes a processor and a wireless transceiver coupled to the processor; and the processor is configured: to determine a resource reservation pattern of a user equipment (UE) , wherein the resource reservation pattern is a slot level resource reservation pattern or a sub-slot level resource reservation pattern; and to transmit, via the wireless transceiver to the UE, an indication indicating the resource reservation pattern of the UE.

Some embodiments of the present application provide a method, which may be performed by a network node (e.g., a BS) . The method includes: determining a resource reservation pattern of a user equipment (UE) , wherein the resource reservation pattern is a slot level resource reservation pattern or a sub-slot level resource reservation pattern; and transmitting, to the UE, an indication indicating the resource reservation pattern of the UE.

Some embodiments of the present application provide an apparatus. The apparatus includes: a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions, a receiving circuitry; a transmitting circuitry; and a processor coupled to the non-transitory computer-readable medium, the receiving circuitry and the transmitting circuitry, wherein the computer-executable instructions cause the processor to implement the abovementioned method performed by a network node (e.g., a BS) .

The details of one or more examples are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to describe the manner in which advantages and features of the present application can be obtained, a description of the present application is rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings. These drawings depict only exemplary embodiments of the present application and are not therefore intended to limit the scope of the present application.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary sidelink wireless communication system in accordance with some embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary sidelink slot according to some embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary sidelink slot supporting a sub-slot according to some embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary resource allocation method for resource allocation Mode 1 according to some embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary resource allocation method with periodicity for resource allocation Mode 1 according to some embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary consecutive resource allocation method for resource allocation Mode 1 according to some embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary resource allocation method for resource allocation Mode 2 according to some embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary resource allocation method with periodicity for resource allocation Mode 2 according to some embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary consecutive resource allocation method for resource allocation Mode 2 according to some embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary sub-slot level resource selection procedure for resource allocation Mode 2 according to some embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of an apparatus according to some embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 12 illustrates a flow chart of a method for obtaining an indication indicating a resource reservation pattern according to some embodiments of the present application; and

FIG. 13 illustrates a flow chart of a method for determining a resource reservation pattern according to some embodiments of the present application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description of the appended drawings is intended as a description of preferred embodiments of the present application and is not intended to represent the only form in which the present application may be practiced. It should be understood that the same or equivalent functions may be accomplished by different embodiments that are intended to be encompassed within the spirit and scope of the present application.

Reference will now be made in detail to some embodiments of the present application, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. To facilitate understanding, embodiments are provided under specific network architecture and new service scenarios, such as 3GPP LTE and LTE advanced, 3GPP 5G NR, 5G-Advanced, 6G, and so on. It is contemplated that along with developments of network architectures and new service scenarios, all embodiments in the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems; and moreover, the terminologies recited in the present application may change, which should not affect the principle of the present application.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary sidelink wireless communication system in accordance with some embodiments of the present application.

As shown in FIG. 1, a wireless communication system 100 includes at least one user equipment (UE) 101 and at least one base station (BS) 102. In particular, the wireless communication system 100 includes two UEs 101 (e.g., UE 101a and UE 101b) and one BS 102 for illustrative purpose. Although a specific number of UEs 101 and BS 102 are depicted in FIG. 1, it is contemplated that any number of UEs 101 and BSs 102 may be included in the wireless communication system 100.

UE (s) 101 may include computing devices, such as desktop computers, laptop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs) , tablet computers, smart televisions (e.g., televisions connected to the Internet) , set-top boxes, game consoles, security systems (including security cameras) , vehicle on-board computers, network devices (e.g., routers, switches, and modems) , or the like. According to some embodiments of the present application, UE (s) 101 may include a portable wireless communication device, a smart phone, a cellular telephone, a flip phone, a device having a subscriber identity module, a personal computer, a selective call receiver, or any other device that is capable of sending and receiving communication signals on a wireless network.

In some embodiments of the present application, a UE is a pedestrian UE (P-UE or PUE) or a cyclist UE. In some embodiments of the present application, UE (s) 101 includes wearable devices, such as smart watches, fitness bands, optical head-mounted displays, or the like. Moreover, UE (s) 101 may be referred to as a subscriber unit, a mobile, a mobile station, a user, a terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a fixed terminal, a subscriber station, a user terminal, or a device, or described using other terminology used in the art. UE (s) 101 may communicate directly with BSs 102 via LTE or NR Uu interface. Moreover, UE (s) 101 may work in a wider Internet-of-Thing (IoT) or Industrial IoT (IIoT) scenario with increased demand (s) of low air-interface latency and/or high reliability to be addressed, which includes such as factory automation, electrical power distribution, and/or transport industry.

In some embodiments of the present application, each of UE (s) 101 may be deployed an IoT application, an eMBB application and/or a URLLC application. For instance, UE 101a may implement an IoT application and may be named as an IoT UE, while UE 101b may implement an eMBB application and/or a URLLC application and may be named as an eMBB UE, an URLLC UE, or an eMBB/URLLC UE. It is contemplated that the specific type of application (s) deployed in UE (s) 101 may be varied and not limited.

In a sidelink communication system, a transmission UE may also be named as a transmitting UE, a Tx UE, a sidelink Tx UE, a sidelink transmission UE, or the like. A reception UE may also be named as a receiving UE, a Rx UE, a sidelink Rx UE, a sidelink reception UE, or the like.

According to some embodiments of FIG. 1, UE 101a functions as a Tx UE, and UE 101b functions as a Rx UE. UE 101a may exchange sidelink messages with UE 101b through a sidelink, for example, PC5 interface as defined in 3GPP TS 23.303. UE 101a may transmit information or data to other UE (s) within the sidelink communication system, through sidelink unicast, sidelink groupcast, or sidelink broadcast. For instance, UE 101a transmits data to UE 101b in a sidelink unicast session. UE 101a may transmit data to UE 101b and other UEs in a groupcast group (not shown in FIG. 1) by a sidelink groupcast transmission session. Also, UE 101a may transmit data to UE 101b and other UEs (not shown in FIG. 1) by a sidelink broadcast transmission session.

Alternatively, according to some other embodiments of FIG. 1, UE 101b functions as a Tx UE and transmits sidelink messages, and UE 101a functions as a Rx UE and receives the sidelink messages from UE 101b.

Both UE 101a and UE 101b in the embodiments of FIG. 1 may transmit information to BS (s) 102 and receive control information from BS (s) 102, for example, via LTE or NR Uu interface. BS (s) 102 may be distributed over a geographic region. In certain embodiments of the present application, each of BS (s) 102 may also be referred to as an access point, an access terminal, a base, a base unit, a macro cell, a Node-B, an evolved Node B (eNB) , a gNB, a Home Node-B, a relay node, or a device, or described using other terminology used in the art. BS (s) 102 is generally a part of a radio access network that may include one or more controllers communicably coupled to one or more corresponding BS (s) 102.

The wireless communication system 100 may be compatible with any type of network that is capable of sending and receiving wireless communication signals. For example, the wireless communication system 100 is compatible with a wireless communication network, a cellular telephone network, a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) -based network, a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) -based network, an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) -based network, an LTE network, a 3GPP-based network, a 3GPP 5G network, a satellite communications network, a high altitude platform network, and/or other communications networks.

In some embodiments of the present application, the wireless communication system 100 is compatible with the 5G NR of the 3GPP protocol, wherein BS (s) 102 transmit data using an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) modulation scheme on the downlink (DL) and UE (s) 101 transmit data on the uplink (UL) using a Discrete Fourier Transform-Spread-Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM) or cyclic prefix-OFDM (CP-OFDM) scheme. More generally, however, the wireless communication system 100 may implement some other open or proprietary communication protocols, for example, WiMAX, among other protocols.

In some embodiments of the present application, BS (s) 102 may communicate using other communication protocols, such as the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless communication protocols. Further, in some embodiments of the present application, BS (s) 102 may communicate over licensed spectrums, whereas in other embodiments, BS (s) 102 may communicate over unlicensed spectrums. The present application is not intended to be limited to the implementation of any particular wireless communication system architecture or protocol. In yet some embodiments of the present application, BS (s) 102 may communicate with UE (s) 101 using the 3GPP 5G protocols.

In general, supporting for a new radio (NR) SL is firstly introduced in 3GPP Rel-16. Although the resource pool configuration has a slot-based granularity in the time domain, this does not preclude the case in which only a limited set of consecutive symbols within a sidelink slot is actually available for sidelink communication. The limited set of consecutive symbols can be configured by the first symbol of the set of consecutive symbols available for sidelink communication and the number of consecutive symbols available for sidelink communication. Without loss of generality, this application only illustrates examples where all 14 OFDM symbols within a sidelink slot are available for sidelink communication. As per NR sidelink slot specified in 3GPP Rel-16, the first of the available OFDM symbols for sidelink communication of a sidelink slot is a copy of the second of the available OFDM symbols for sidelink communication of the sidelink slot; and the first of the available OFDM symbols for sidelink communication is used for an automatic gain control (AGC) purpose. The operation of AGC is performed by a UE when receiving a signal to determine the amplification degree, and thus, the UE can adjust the gain of the receiver amplifier to fit the power of the received signal. A specific example is shown in FIG. 2 as below.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary sidelink slot according to some embodiments of the present application. As shown in FIG. 2, one sidelink slot includes 14 OFDM symbols in total, i.e., OFDM symbol #0 to OFDM symbol #13. OFDM symbol #0 is used for AGC by repeating the first OFDM symbol (i.e., OFDM symbol #1) carrying physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) and/or physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) transmissions. The last available OFDM symbol, i.e., OFDM symbol #13, is always used as a guard symbol. In addition, OFDM symbol #1, OFDM symbol #2, and OFDM symbol #3 are used to carry PSSCH and PSCCH transmissions. OFDM Symbol #4 to OFDM symbol #9 are used to carry PSSCH transmissions. An OFDM symbol carrying PSSCH and/or PSCCH transmissions may be named as “a PSSCH and/or PSCCH OFDM symbol” , “a PSSCH and/or PSCCH symbol” , or the like.

In the embodiments of FIG. 2, if hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback is enabled for the sidelink slot, a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) transmission is transmitted in the second last available OFDM symbol (i.e., OFDM symbol #12 as shown in FIG. 2) of the sidelink slot. An OFDM symbol carrying a PSFCH transmission may be named as “a PSFCH OFDM symbol” , “a PSFCH symbol” , or the like. One OFDM symbol right prior to the PSFCH symbol may be used as AGC and may comprise a copy of the PSFCH symbol. For example, OFDM symbol #11 as shown in FIG. 2 is used as AGC by repeating the PSFCH symbol #12 as shown in FIG. 2.

In some embodiments, a guard symbol between the PSSCH and/or PSCCH symbol and the PSFCH symbol is needed to provide switching time between “a PSSCH and/or PSCCH reception” and “a PSFCH transmission” (i.e., OFDM symbol #10 as shown in FIG. 2) . This implies that, if PSFCH resources are configured for a sidelink slot, this will use a total of three OFDM symbols, including the AGC symbol and the extra guard symbol.

Considering that the AGC setting time occupies only 15 microseconds (i.e., μsec or μs) , and the assumption for the necessary transmission/reception (Tx/Rx) switching gap is 13 μsec while the symbol duration for 15kHz Subcarrier Spacing (SCS) is equal to 66.67 μsec and the symbol duration for 30kHz SCS is equal to 33.33 μsec, it is inefficient to use a whole symbol working as AGC for some SCS, such as, 15kHz or 30kHz.

Currently, in a factory automation scenario, lower latency requirements are needed and thus cannot be satisfied by a slot-based sidelink transmission. For example, if SCSs are configured per resource pool and if a desired resource pool is configured with a shorter SCS (such as, 15kHz or 30kHz) , it is required to reduce the transmission latency for the configured SCS. This implies that, the latency on the resource pool cannot be reduced by applying a longer SCS. Therefore, sub-slot based sidelink slot pattern (or format) is introduced in supporting low latency and high spectrum efficiency sidelink transmission, which comprises the following components such as full symbol (FS) , half symbol (HS) , and combined symbol (CS) .

For instance, following three types of a full symbol are defined.

(1) FS ₁ is defined as a full symbol which is for carrying PSSCH and/or PSCCH transmissions.

(2) FS ₂ is defined as a full symbol which is for carrying a PSSCH transmission.

(3) FS ₃ is defined as a full symbol which is for carrying a PSFCH transmission.

For instance, following four types of a half symbol are defined.

(1) HS ₁ is defined as a HS which is “a copy of the first half of the nearest PSSCH and/or PSCCH symbol after the HS” or “a copy of the first half of the nearest PSFCH symbol after the HS” . For example, HS ₁ can be used as AGC.

(2) HS ₂ is defined as a HS which works as a gap for Tx/Rx switching.

(3) HS ₃ is defined as a HS which is “a copy of the second half of the nearest PSSCH and/or PSCCH symbol before the HS” or “a copy of the second half of the nearest PSFCH symbol before the HS” . For example, HS ₃ can be used for reliability improvement.

(4) HS ₄ is defined as a HS carrying extra information by transmitting a preamble sequence. The information carried in HS ₄ can be used for supporting a sub-slot based transmission. For example, HS ₄ can be used for increasing spectrum efficiency. Or, HS ₄ can be used for padding a symbol.

For instance, following four types of a combined symbol are defined.

(1) CS ₁ is defined as comprising two half symbols, in which the first half of the combined symbol is HS ₁, and the second half of the combined symbol is HS ₄.

(2) CS ₂ is defined as comprising two half symbols, in which the first half of the combined symbol is HS ₃, and the second half of the combined symbol is HS ₂.

(3) CS ₃ is defined as comprising two half symbols, in which the first half of the combined symbol is HS ₂, and the second half of the combined symbol is HS ₁.

(4) CS ₄ is defined as comprising two half symbols, in which the first half of the combined symbol is HS ₄, and the second half of the combined symbol is HS ₂.

Currently, for instance, following two types of sidelink sub-slots are defined.

(1) Sub-slot type SS _A does not comprise symbol (s) of a PSFCH transmission. That is, SS _A comprises only “PSSCH and/or PSCCH transmissions” or only “a PSSCH transmission” . Sub-slot type SS _A can be further classified as follows:

a) Sub-slot type SS _A1 comprises one CS ₁, at least one FS ₁, and one CS ₂.

b) Sub-slot type SS _A2 comprises one CS ₁, at least one FS ₁, and one HS ₂.

c) Sub-slot type SS _A3 comprises one HS ₁, at least one FS ₁, and one HS ₂.

(2) Sub-slot type SS _B does not comprise symbol (s) of PSSCH and/or PSCCH transmissions. That is, SS _B comprises only a PSFCH transmission. Sub-slot type SS _B can be further classified as follows:

a) Sub-slot type SS _B1 comprises one HS ₁, at least one FS ₃, and one CS ₂.

b) Sub-slot type SS _B2 comprises one HS ₁, at least one FS ₃, and one CS ₄.

c) Sub-slot type SS _B3 comprises one HS ₁, at least one FS ₃, and one HS ₂.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary sidelink slot supporting a sub-slot according to some embodiments of the present application. In the embodiments of FIG. 3, one sidelink slot includes 14 OFDM symbols in total, i.e., OFDM symbol #0 to OFDM symbol #13.

According to the embodiments of FIG. 3, the sidelink slot as illustrated by FIG. 3 includes five sidelink sub-slots in total, i.e., SS#0, SS#1, SS#2, SS#3, and SS#4. All of SS#0, SS#1, and SS#2 belong to sub-slot type SS _A1, which comprises one CS ₁, one FS ₁ and one CS ₂. SS#3 belongs to sub-slot type SS _A2, which comprises one CS ₁, one FS ₁ and one HS ₂. SS#4 belongs to sub-slot type SS _B1, which comprises one HS ₁, one FS ₃ and one CS ₂.

Currently, since only a slot-based transmission is supported for a sidelink, resource allocation and indication methods are needed to support a sub-slot level sidelink transmission. Therefore, an issue of “how to support sub-slot level sidelink transmission in coexistence with an existing slot-based sidelink system” needs to be solved. Embodiments of the present application propose resource allocation for a sub-slot level sidelink transmission in coexistence with an existing slot-based sidelink system.

Some embodiments of the present application provide resource allocation methods of sub-slot level resource allocation for resource allocation Mode 1. Specifically, in case of resource allocation Mode 1, a sidelink (PSSCH or PSCCH) transmission can only be carried out by a UE if the UE has been provided with a valid scheduling grant that indicates the exact set of resources used for the sidelink transmission. In some embodiments, sidelink scheduling can be done by means of both dynamic and configured grants. Specific examples are described in embodiments of FIGS. 4 and 5 as follows. For example, information of a resource reservation pattern may be used to indicate a slot level resource reservation pattern or a sub-slot level resource reservation pattern for a sidelink to a UE. In some embodiments, in sub-slot level resource allocation for resource allocation Mode 1, one bit or a sidelink slot pattern identifier (ID) may be used to indicate a slot level resource reservation pattern or a sub-slot level resource reservation pattern for a sidelink. In some embodiments, scheduled resources are indicated by time offset (s) , frequency offset (s) , and bandwidth (s) . In some embodiments, the first scheduled resource (e.g., a time offset and/or a frequency offset) and a repetition number of resources may be used to indicate consecutive resource scheduling from a BS to a UE. A specific example is described in embodiments of FIG. 6 as follows.

Some other embodiments of the present application provide resource allocation methods of sub-slot level resource allocation for resource allocation Mode 2. Specifically, in case of resource allocation Mode 2, a UE autonomously decides on the exact resources to use for sidelink transmission, based on a sensing and resource-selection procedure. The sensing and resource-selection procedure is assisted by resources-reservation announcements included as part of the 1 ^st-stage sidelink control information (SCI) . Specific examples are described in embodiments of FIGS. 7-9 as follows. For instance, information of a resource reservation pattern may be used to indicate a slot level resource reservation pattern or a sub-slot level resource reservation pattern to other UE. In some embodiments, in case of sub-slot level resource allocation for resource allocation Mode 2, one bit or a sidelink slot pattern identifier (ID) may be used to indicate a slot level resource reservation pattern or a sub-slot level resource reservation pattern. In some embodiments, reserved resources are indicated by time offset (s) , frequency offset (s) , and bandwidth (s) . In some embodiments, an initial resource (e.g., a time offset and/or a frequency offset) and a repetition number of resources may be used to indicate consecutive resource reservation from one UE to another UE. In some embodiments, upon obtaining information indicating a sub-slot level resource selection procedure, a Tx UE may select a resource in terms of a sub-slot based on a sensing and random selection procedure according to configuration information regarding a resource pool.

In embodiments of the present application, a sidelink sub-slot refers to a fraction of a sidelink slot or a limited set of consecutive symbols within a sidelink slot. A sidelink sub-slot (SS) may also be named as “a sub-slot” , “a sidelink mini-slot” , “a mini-slot” , or the like. More details will be illustrated in following text in combination with the appended drawings.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary resource allocation method for resource allocation Mode 1 according to some embodiments of the present application. In the embodiments of FIG. 4, a dynamic grant for a sidelink transmission may include:

(1) Information which indicates a slot level resource reservation pattern or a sub-slot level resource reservation pattern. This information may be represented by:

a) using one bit, to explicitly indicate a slot level resource reservation pattern or a sub-slot level resource reservation pattern; or

b) using a sl-slot pattern identifier (ID) involved in the selected resource pool, to implicitly indicate a slot level resource reservation pattern or a sub-slot level resource reservation pattern.

- The resource pool can be “a dedicated resource pool in which only a sub-slot level sidelink transmission is allowed” or “a resource pool in which both a slot level sidelink transmission and a sub-slot level sidelink transmission are allowed” .

- A sl-slot pattern ID indicates an ID for the pattern of a sidelink slot based on which the sidelink slot is constructed. A slot pattern may also be named as “a slot format” or the like. A sl-slot pattern ID may also be named as “a SL-slot pattern ID” , “a SL slot pattern ID” , “a sidelink-slot pattern ID” , “a sidelink slot pattern ID” , or the like. A data type of a sl-slot pattern ID can be an enumerated type. For example, “1” and “2” may represent different IDs of two different patterns of a sidelink slot, respectively. In the embodiment of FIG. 3, “1” may represent an ID of the pattern of the one sidelink slot illustrated in FIG. 3.

(2) Signaling: a dynamic grant may be provided by means of DCI (such as format 3_0) . For example, the DCI may carry information as follows:

a) The information which indicates a slot level resource reservation pattern or a sub-slot level resource reservation pattern.

b) Parameters of ΔT, ΔT1, ΔT2, Δf, Δf1 and Δf2 and the bandwidth of the scheduled resources. These parameters indicate the exact time-frequency resources.

In the embodiments of FIG. 4, in case of a sub-slot level, each grant can schedule resources for a sidelink transmission of the same transport block (TB) in up to MaxNumOfReservedResource different sub-slots within a window of sub-slots (i.e., a Sub-Slot Window as shown in FIG. 4) . A length of the window may be defined as WindowLength. For instance, WindowLength may be set according to a latency budget (as shown in FIG. 4) . For example, a value of MaxNumOfReservedResource can be 3 as shown in FIG. 4. That is, there are at most three reserved resources in total in the Sub-Slot Window as shown in FIG. 4. In some embodiments of FIG. 4, an exact set of resources used for the sidelink transmission include time-domain resources and frequency-domain resources.

In the embodiments of FIG. 4, in case of a sub-slot level, the first scheduled resource occurs at time offset ΔT after the slot within which the DCI carrying the scheduling grant is received. The remaining scheduled resources have time offsets ΔT1 and ΔT2 relative to the first scheduled resource. In some embodiments, ΔT, ΔT1, ΔT2 are represented by a number of sub-slots. In particular, as shown in FIG. 4, the first scheduled resource occurs at time offset ΔT. ΔT is after “Slot during which scheduling DCI is received” in the time domain. ΔT includes two sub-slots, i.e., SS#0 and SS#1 both of which belong to sub-slot type SS _A1. The second scheduled resource occurs at time offset ΔT1. ΔT1 starts from the start of SS#2 and includes three sub-slots, i.e., SS#2, SS#3, and SS#4, which belong to sub-slot types SS _A1, SS _A2, and SS _B1, respectively. The third scheduled resource occurs at time offset ΔT2. ΔT2 starts from the start of SS#2 and includes nine sub-slots, i.e., SS#2-SS#10, which belong to sub-slot types SS _A1, SS _A2, and SS _B1, respectively. As an example, the sidelink slot illustrated in FIG. 4 is constructed based on a sub-slot pattern as illustrated in FIG. 3. That is to say, each sidelink slot in FIG. 4 is the same as the sidelink slot in FIG. 3.

In the embodiments of FIG. 4, the scheduled resources have the same bandwidth and may have different frequency-domain locations. The first scheduled resource is given by a frequency shift (or offset) Δf relative to the start in the frequency domain of the resource pool, in which the resources are scheduled for the UE. The remaining scheduled resources have shifts Δf1 and Δf2 relative to the first scheduled resource. In some embodiments, Δf, Δf1 and Δf2 and bandwidth may be represented by a number of sub-channels. In particular, as shown in FIG. 4, the first scheduled resource occurs at frequency offset Δf and Δf equals to two sub-channels. The second scheduled resource occurs at frequency offset Δf1. Δf1 starts from the start of the first scheduled resource in the frequency domain and includes four sub-channels. The second scheduled resource occurs at frequency offset Δf2. Δf2 starts from the start of the first scheduled resource in the frequency domain and equals to two sub-channels.

Details described in all other embodiments of the present application (for example, details regarding how to allocate a resource for a sidelink) are applicable for the embodiments of FIG. 4. Moreover, details described in the embodiments of FIG. 4 are applicable for all embodiments of FIGS. 5-13.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary resource allocation method with periodicity for resource allocation Mode 1 according to some embodiments of the present application. In the embodiments of FIG. 5, a configured grant provides a periodically occurring grant for a sidelink transmission and can be further classified into the following two types: configured grant type 1 and configured grant type 2.

In the embodiments of FIG. 5, in case of configured grant type 1, the entire grant may be provided by means of radio resource control (RRC) signaling. The RRC signaling may include information as follows:

(1) Information which indicates a slot level resource reservation pattern or a sub-slot level resource reservation pattern (the same as the embodiments of FIG. 4 which are defined for a dynamic grant) .

(2) Periodicity which indicates the period of the scheduled resources. The periodicity may be denoted by T _p (as shown in FIG. 5) and may be represented by a number of sub-slots.

(3) Parameters which indicate the exact time-frequency resources within each period (as shown in FIG. 5) .

a) Time offset ΔT of the first scheduled resource is relative to the start of a frame identified by its system frame number (SFN) . The time offsets ΔT ₁, ΔT ₂ are relative to the start of the first scheduled resource. In some embodiments, ΔT, ΔT ₁, ΔT ₂ are represented by a number of sub-slots.

b) Scheduled resources have the same bandwidth and may have different frequency-domain locations. The first scheduled resource is given by a frequency shift (or offset) Δf relative to the start in the frequency domain of the resource pool, in which the resources are scheduled for the UE. The remaining scheduled resources have frequency shifts Δf ₁ and Δf ₂ relative to the start of the first scheduled resource. In some embodiments, Δf, Δf ₁ and Δf ₂ and bandwidth as shown in FIG. 5 are represented by a number of sub-channels.

In the embodiments of FIG. 5, in case of configured grant type 2, the information and signaling carrying the information may be as follows:

(1) RRC signaling may include: Periodicity which indicates the period of the scheduled resources.

(2) DCI may include:

a) An activation of the grant.

b) Parameters which indicate the exact time-frequency resources within each period (e.g., ΔT, ΔT ₁, ΔT ₂, Δf, Δf ₁, and Δf ₂ and/or the bandwidth) .

In one embodiment of FIG. 5, the information which indicates a slot level resource reservation pattern or a sub-slot level resource reservation pattern can be carried by RRC signaling. In another embodiment of FIG. 5, this information can be carried by DCI.

The embodiments of FIG. 5 are similar to the embodiments of FIG. 4. The difference is that no periodic resource is reserved for the embodiments of FIG. 4, while the embodiments of FIG. 5 refer to resources reserved periodically. In particular, as shown in FIG. 5, ΔT is relative to “Start of a Frame” . ΔT1 starts from the start of first scheduled resource within each period and includes two sub-slots. ΔT2 starts from the start of first scheduled resource within each period and includes four sub-slots. Periodicity T _p of each period starts from the start of first scheduled resource within the period and includes 9 sub-slots. Parameters Δf, Δf ₁, and Δf ₂ in the embodiments of FIG. 5 are the same as parameters Δf, Δf ₁, and Δf ₂ defined in the embodiments of FIG. 4.

Details described in all other embodiments of the present application (for example, details regarding how to allocate a resource for a sidelink) are applicable for the embodiments of FIG. 5. Moreover, details described in the embodiments of FIG. 5 are applicable for all embodiments of FIGS. 4 and 6-13.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary consecutive resource allocation method for resource allocation Mode 1 according to some embodiments of the present application. In the embodiments of FIG. 6, resources in a dynamic grant or periodic resources in a configured grant for a sidelink transmission can be consecutive in the time domain.

Similar to the case of resource allocation in the embodiments of FIGS. 4 and 5, the case of consecutive resource allocation in the embodiments of FIG. 6 also include “information which indicates a slot level resource reservation pattern or a sub-slot level resource reservation pattern” and “signaling carrying the information” . Different from the embodiments of FIGS. 4 and 5, an indication of the time-frequency resources can be simplified in the embodiments of FIG. 6.

In particular, in the embodiments of FIG. 6, the first scheduled resource in a dynamic grant or the first scheduled resource within a period in a configured grant may be indicated by parameters of time offset ΔT, frequency shift Δf and a bandwidth.

In the embodiments of FIG. 6, the remaining scheduled resources (e.g., the second and third scheduled resources) may be indicated by a number of repetitions (referred to as NumOfRepetition) . In an embodiment, each of the remaining scheduled resources has a same number of sub-slots (i.e., 1 sub-slot) in the time domain as that of the first scheduled resource. In a further embodiment, each of the remaining scheduled resources has a same frequency offset ΔT and a same bandwidth in the frequency domain as that of the first scheduled resource. In an additional embodiment, all scheduled resources are consecutive in the time domain.

As shown in FIG. 6, “First resource” has a time offset ΔT after the slot within which the DCI carrying the scheduling grant is received and has a frequency shift Δf relative to the start in the frequency domain of the resource pool, in which the resources are scheduled for the UE. As shown in FIG. 6, NumOfRepetition=2. A Sub-Slot Window as shown in FIG. 6 includes three resources scheduled in terms of sub-slots, i.e., “First Resource” , “Second Resource” , and “Third Resource” . These three scheduled resources are consecutive in the time domain.

Details described in all other embodiments of the present application (for example, details regarding how to allocate a resource for a sidelink) are applicable for the embodiments of FIG. 6. Moreover, details described in the embodiments of FIG. 6 are applicable for all embodiments of FIGS. 4, 5, and 7-13.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary resource allocation method for resource allocation Mode 2 according to some embodiments of the present application.

In the embodiments of FIG. 7, resource-reservation information may be announced as part of 1 ^st-stage SCI. For instance, the resource-reservation information may include “information which indicates a slot level resource reservation pattern or a sub-slot level resource reservation pattern” which may be represented by:

(1) using one bit, to explicitly indicate slot level resource reservation pattern or sub-slot level resource reservation pattern; or

(2) using a sl-slot pattern ID involved in the selected resource pool, to implicitly indicate a slot level resource reservation pattern or a sub-slot level resource reservation pattern. Furthermore, the resource pool can be either “a dedicated resource pool in which only a sub-slot level sidelink transmission is allowed” or “a resource pool in which both slot-level and sub-slot level sidelink transmissions are allowed” .

In the embodiments of FIG. 7, in case of a sub-slot level, in addition to the initial resource (i.e., Initial resource in terms of sub-slot as shown in FIG. 7) of the current sub-slot (i.e., the sub-slot in which the 1 ^st-stage SCI is transmitted as shown in FIG. 7) , a UE can reserve additional resources for the sidelink transmission of the same TB in up to MaxNumOfReservedResource (e.g., the value can be 3 as shown in FIG. 7) different sub-slots within a window of sub-slots with WindowLength. For instance, WindowLength may be set according to a latency budget. In some embodiments of FIG. 7, parameters of MaxNumOfReservedResource and WindowLength can be (pre-) configured to the UE. In an embodiment, each of these two parameters can be (pre-) configured by RRC signaling, a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) , or DCI. In some embodiments of FIG. 7, each of these two parameters can be (pre-) configured per a resource pool, per a zone, or per a frequency band. In some embodiments of FIG. 7, an exact set of resources used for the sidelink transmission includes time-domain resources and frequency-domain resources.

In particular, in the embodiments of FIG. 7, in case of a sub-slot level, additional reserved resource (s) in terms of sub-slot have time offsets ΔT ₁ and ΔT ₂ relative to the initial resource of the current sub-slot. For instance, ΔT ₁ and ΔT ₂ may be represented by a number of sub-slots. In the embodiments of FIG. 7, the additional reserved resource (s) have the same bandwidth as that of the initial resource, and the additional reserved resource (s) have different frequency-domain locations given by frequency offsets Δf ₁ and Δf ₂ relative to that of the initial resource. For instance, parameters Δf ₁, Δf ₂ and the bandwidth are represented by a number of sub-channels. As shown in FIG. 7, a PSCCH transmission in a sub-slot in which the 1 ^st-stage SCI is transmitted includes indications of two additional reserved resources in the Sub-Slot Window.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary resource allocation method with periodicity for resource allocation Mode 2 according to some embodiments of the present application.

In the embodiments of FIG. 8, if a UE reserves periodic resources, the resource-reservation information is indicated by a parameter of resource reservation periodicity. For example, the resource reservation periodicity may be denoted by T _p and may be transmitted in the 1 ^st-stage SCI. In some embodiments, a parameter value of T _p with all bits being equal to zero may be used to indicate that no periodic resource is reserved.

The embodiments of FIG. 8 are similar to the embodiments of FIG. 7. The difference is that no periodic resource is reserved for the embodiments of FIG. 7, while the embodiments of FIG. 8 refer to resources reserved periodically. In particular, as shown in FIG. 8, ΔT1 starts from the start of the first reserved resource and includes two sub-slots. ΔT2 starts from the start of the first reserved resource and includes four sub-slots. Periodicity T _p of each period starts from the start of the first reserved resource within each period and includes 9 sub-slots. Parameters Δf ₁ and Δf ₂ in the embodiments of FIG. 8 are the same as parameters Δf ₁ and Δf ₂ in the embodiments of FIG. 7.

Details described in all other embodiments of the present application (for example, details regarding how to allocate a resource for a sidelink) are applicable for the embodiments of FIGS. 7 and 8. Moreover, details described in the embodiments of FIGS. 7 and 8 are applicable for all embodiments of FIGS. 4-6 and 9-13.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary consecutive resource allocation method for resource allocation Mode 2 according to some embodiments of the present application. In the embodiments of FIG. 9, resources reserved for a sidelink transmission can be consecutive in the time domain.

The consecutive resource allocation in the embodiments of FIG. 9 also refers to “the information which indicates a slot level resource reservation pattern or a sub-slot level resource reservation pattern” and “signaling carrying the information” , which have the same meanings and formats to those in the resource allocation in the embodiments of FIGS. 7 and 8. Different from the embodiments of FIGS. 7 and 8, in the embodiments of FIG. 9, the indication of resources can be simplified to include:

(1) Initial resource which may be indicated by the parameter of bandwidth.

(2) Additional reserved resource (s) (e.g., “Second Resource” and “Third Resource” as shown in FIG. 9) which may be indicated by a number of repetitions (referred to as NumOfRepetition as shown in FIG. 9) .

In the embodiments of FIG. 9, each of the additional reserved resource (s) may have the same number of sub-slots (e.g., 1 sub-slot) in the time domain as that of the initial resource (i.e., “Initial resource in terms of sub-slot” as shown in FIG. 9) . In the embodiments of FIG. 9, each of the additional reserved resource (s) may have the same start frequency position and the same bandwidth in the frequency domain as that of the initial resource. Since the initial resource is sensed by other UE, it has no need to indicate start frequency position in the 1 ^st-stage SCI. In the embodiments of FIG. 9, the initial resource and additional reserved resource (s) are consecutive in the time domain.

As shown in FIG. 9, a PSCCH transmission in a sub-slot in which the 1 ^st-stage SCI is transmitted includes indications of two additional reserved resources (i.e., “Second Resource” and “Third Resource” ) in the Sub-Slot Window. As shown in FIG. 9, NumOfRepetition=2. A Sub-Slot Window as shown in FIG. 9 includes three resources reserved in terms of sub-slots, that is, “Initial resource in terms of sub-slot” and two additional reserved resources in terms of sub-slot. These three reserved resources are consecutive in the time domain.

Details described in all other embodiments of the present application (for example, details regarding how to allocate a resource for a sidelink) are applicable for the embodiments of FIG. 9. Moreover, details described in the embodiments of FIG. 9 are applicable for all embodiments of FIGS. 4-8 and 10-13.

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary sub-slot level resource selection procedure for resource allocation Mode 2 according to some embodiments of the present application. In the embodiments of FIG. 10, upon obtaining information indicating a sub-slot level resource selection, a Tx UE may select a resource in terms of (or in form of) a sub-slot based on a sensing procedure and/or a random selection procedure according to configuration information of a resource pool. Otherwise, if the obtained information indicating a slot level resource selection, the Tx UE may select a resource in terms of a slot based on a sensing procedure and/or a random selection procedure according to configuration information of a resource pool as specified in 3GPP.

In particular, as shown in FIG. 10, after a sensing window in terms of sub-slots in time domain, a Tx UE triggers a sub-slot level sensing-based resource selection, and a reservation window in terms of sub-slots is after the time of triggering the sub-slot level sensing-based resource selection in the time domain. In the embodiments of FIG. 10, after a Tx UE selects resources in the reservation window in terms of sub-slots, the Tx UE may apply resources-reservation announcements as defined in the sub-slot level resource allocation for resource allocation Mode 2 which are illustrated and shown in the embodiments of FIGS. 7-9.

In the embodiments of FIG. 10, “information which indicates a slot level resource reservation pattern or a sub-slot level resource reservation pattern” can be represented by: either one bit indicated from higher layer; or a sl-slot pattern ID involved in the selected resource pool.

In the embodiments of FIG. 10, the sub-slot level sensing-based resource selection procedure may be similar to a sensing-based resource selection procedure specified in 3GPP sidelink, while the difference between these two methods is that, in case of a sub-slot level, resources are represented in terms of sub-slots.

In the embodiments of FIG. 10, a sensing procedure is to:

(1) prioritize resource (s) not reserved by other UE;

(2) prioritize resource (s) reserved by the UE received with a lower reference signal receiver power (RSRP) ;

(3) prioritize resource (s) reserved by the UE with a lower relative priority;

(4) guarantee that remaining resource (s) are of at least 20%of the original candidate resources within the reservation window; and

(5) do the final resource selection procedure based on a random resource selection procedure from the remaining resource (s) .

Details described in all other embodiments of the present application (for example, details regarding how to allocate a resource for a sidelink) are applicable for the embodiments of FIG. 10. Moreover, details described in the embodiments of FIG. 10 are applicable for all embodiments of FIGS. 4-9 and 11-13.

FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of an apparatus according to some embodiments of the present application. As shown in FIG. 11, the apparatus 1100 may include at least one processor 1104 and at least one transceiver 1102 coupled to the processor 1104. The apparatus 1100 may be a UE or a network node (e.g., a BS) .

Although in FIG. 11, elements such as the at least one transceiver 1102 and the processor 1104 are described in the singular, the plural is contemplated unless a limitation to the singular is explicitly stated. In some embodiments of the present application, the transceiver 1102 may be divided into two devices, such as a receiving circuitry and a transmitting circuitry. In some embodiments of the present application, the apparatus 1100 may further include an input device, a memory, and/or other components.

In some embodiments of the present application, the apparatus 1100 may be a UE (e.g., UE 101a or UE 101b illustrated and shown in FIG. 1) . For instance, the UE is a Tx UE (e.g., UE 101a illustrated and shown in FIG. 1) . The processor 1104 of the UE may be configured to obtain an indication indicating a resource reservation pattern of the UE. The resource reservation pattern may be a slot level resource reservation pattern or a sub-slot level resource reservation pattern. According to some embodiments, the indication is obtained via at least one of: (1) RRC signaling; (2) a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) ; or (3) DCI. According to some embodiments, upon obtaining indication indicating a sub-slot level resource pattern, the UE may select a resource in terms of (or in form of) a sub-slot based on a sensing procedure and/or a random selection procedure according to configuration information of a resource pool. Otherwise, if the obtained indication indicating a slot level resource pattern, the UE may select a resource in terms of a slot based on a sensing procedure and/or a random selection procedure according to configuration information of a resource pool as specified in 3GPP.

According to some embodiments, the processor 1104 of the UE may be configured to transmit, to other UE (e.g., UE 101b illustrated and shown in FIG. 1) , the indication via the transceiver 1102 of the UE over a sidelink of the UE. According to some embodiments, the indication is carried in sidelink control information (SCI) transmitted from the UE. According to some embodiments, the indication is represented by one bit. According to some other embodiments, the indication is a sidelink slot pattern identifier (ID) .

According to some embodiments, the processor 1104 of the UE may be configured to obtain configuration information regarding the resource reservation pattern. According to some embodiments, the configuration information is obtained from an upper layer of the UE. According to some other embodiments, the configuration information is obtained from a network node. In some embodiments, the configuration information is obtained via at least one of: (1) RRC signaling; (2) a MAC CE; or (3) DCI. According to some embodiments, the configuration information is associated with one of: a resource pool; a zone; and a frequency band.

According to some embodiments, the processor 1104 of the UE may be configured to transmit, to the other UE, the configuration information regarding the resource reservation pattern. In some embodiments, the configuration information is carried in SCI transmitted from the UE.

In some embodiments, the configuration information includes one or more items, and the one or more items include at least one of:

(1) A window length (e.g., WindowLength in the embodiments of FIG. 4) of a window (e.g., a Sub-Slot Window as shown in FIG. 4) of resources to be reserved by the UE.

(2) A maximum number (e.g., MaxNumOfReservedResource in the embodiments of FIG. 4) of resources reserved in the window (e.g., a Sub-Slot Window as shown in FIG. 4) .

(3) One or more time offsets (e.g., ΔT, ΔT1, and ΔT2 as shown in FIG. 4) associated with the window. In some embodiments, one time offset (e.g., ΔT as shown in FIG. 4) within the one or more time offsets is relative to a slot including DCI carrying a scheduling grant; and other time offset (s) (e.g., ΔT1 and ΔT2 as shown in FIG. 4) within the one or more time offsets is relative to the one time offset.

(4) One or more frequency offsets (e.g., Δf, Δf1, and Δf2 as shown in FIG. 4) associated with the window.

(5) A bandwidth of a frequency resource scheduled to the UE; or a bandwidth of a frequency resource reserved by the UE (e.g., a bandwidth of each scheduled resource with two sub-channels as shown in FIG. 4; or a bandwidth of each reserved resource with two sub-channels as shown in FIG. 7) .

(6) A time period value (e.g., T _p as shown in FIG. 5) of the window.

(7) A number of repetitions (e.g., NumOfRepetition as shown in FIG. 6) of a first reserved resource in the time domain.

According to some embodiments, in response to the resource reservation pattern being the sub-slot level resource reservation pattern, at least one item in the configuration information is represented by a number of sub-slots. According to some other embodiments, in response to the resource reservation pattern being the slot level resource reservation pattern, at least one item in the configuration information is represented by a number of slots.

According to some embodiments, the processor 1104 of the UE may be configured to select one or more resources based on the resource reservation pattern by a sensing procedure or a random selection procedure (e.g., in the embodiments of FIG. 10) . In some embodiments, in response to the resource reservation pattern being the slot level resource reservation pattern, the one or more resources are represented in terms of slots. In some other embodiments, in response to the resource reservation pattern being the sub-slot level resource reservation patter, the one or more resources are represented in terms of sub-slots.

In some embodiments of the present application, the apparatus 1100 may be a network node (e.g., a BS, which may be BS 102 illustrated and shown in FIG. 1) . The processor 1104 of the network node may be configured: to determine a resource reservation pattern of a user equipment (UE) , wherein the resource reservation pattern is a slot level resource reservation pattern or a sub-slot level resource reservation pattern; and to transmit, via the transceiver 1102 of the network node to the UE, an indication indicating the resource reservation pattern of the UE.

According to some embodiments, the indication is represented by one bit. According to some other embodiments, the indication is a sidelink slot pattern identifier (ID) .

According to some embodiments, the indication is transmitted via at least one of: (1) RRC signaling; (2) a MAC CE; or (3) DCI.

According to some embodiments, the processor 1104 of the network node may be configured to transmit, via the transceiver 1102 of the network node to the UE, configuration information regarding the resource reservation pattern. According to some embodiments, the configuration information is transmitted via at least one of: (1) RRC signaling; (2) a MAC CE; or (3) DCI. According to some embodiments, the configuration information is associated with one of: a resource pool; a zone; and a frequency band.

In some embodiments, the configuration information includes one or more items, and the one or more items includes at least one of:

(1) A window length of a window of resources to be reserved by the UE.

(2) A maximum number of resources reserved in the window.

(3) One or more time offsets associated with the window. In some embodiments, one time offset within the one or more time offsets is relative to a slot including DCI carrying a scheduling grant; and other time offset (s) within the one or more time offsets is relative to the one time offset.

(4) One or more frequency offsets associated with the window.

(5) A bandwidth of a frequency resource scheduled to the UE; or a bandwidth of a frequency resource reserved by the UE.

(6) A time period value of the window.

(7) A number of repetitions of a first reserved resource in the time domain.

In some embodiments of the present application, the apparatus 1100 may further include at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the non-transitory computer-readable medium may have stored thereon computer-executable instructions to cause a processor to implement the method with respect to a UE or a network node (e.g., a BS) as described above. For example, the computer-executable instructions, when executed, cause the processor 1104 interacting with the transceiver 1102, so as to perform operations of the methods, e.g., as described in view of FIGS. 4-10, 12, and 13.

FIG. 12 illustrates a flow chart of a method for obtaining an indication indicating a resource reservation pattern according to some embodiments of the present application. The embodiments of FIG. 12 may be performed by a UE (e.g., UE 101a or UE 101b illustrated and shown in FIG. 1) . Although described with respect to a UE, it should be understood that other devices may be configured to perform a method similar to that of FIG. 12.

In the exemplary method 1200 as shown in FIG. 12, in operation 1201, a UE (e.g., UE 101a illustrated and shown in FIG. 1) obtains an indication indicating a resource reservation pattern of the UE. The resource reservation pattern is a slot level resource reservation pattern or a sub-slot level resource reservation pattern. According to some embodiments, the indication is represented by one bit. According to some other embodiments, the indication is a sidelink slot pattern identifier (ID) . According to some embodiments, the indication is obtained via at least one of: (1) radio resource control (RRC) signaling; (2) a MAC CE; or (3) downlink control information (DCI) .

According to some embodiments, upon obtaining indication indicating a sub-slot level resource pattern, the UE may select a resource in terms of (or in form of) a sub-slot based on a sensing procedure and/or a random selection procedure according to configuration information of a resource pool. Otherwise, if the obtained indication indicating a slot level resource pattern, the UE may select a resource in terms of a slot based on a sensing procedure and/or a random selection procedure according to configuration information of a resource pool as specified in 3GPP.

In operation 1202, the UE transmits, to other UE (e.g., UE 101a illustrated and shown in FIG. 1) , the indication over a sidelink of the UE. According to some embodiments, the indication is carried in sidelink control information (SCI) transmitted from the UE.

It is contemplated that the method illustrated in FIG. 12 may include other operation (s) not shown, for example, any operation (s) described with respect to FIGS. 4-11 and 13. For example, according to some embodiments, the UE obtains configuration information regarding the resource reservation pattern. According to some embodiments, the configuration information is obtained from an upper layer of the UE. According to some other embodiments, the configuration information is obtained from a network node (e.g., BS 102 illustrated and shown in FIG. 1) . In some embodiments, the configuration information is obtained via at least one of: (1) RRC signaling; (2) a MAC CE; or (3) DCI. According to some embodiments, the configuration information is associated with one of: a resource pool; a zone; and a frequency band.

According to some embodiments, the UE transmits, to the other UE, the configuration information regarding the resource reservation pattern. In some embodiments, the configuration information is carried in SCI transmitted from the UE. In some embodiments, the configuration information includes one or more items, and the one or more items include at least one of:

(1) A window length of a window of resources to be reserved by the UE.

(2) A maximum number of resources reserved in the window.

(4) One or more frequency offsets associated with the window.

(6) A time period value of the window.

(7) A number of repetitions of a first reserved resource in the time domain.

According to some embodiments, the UE selects one or more resources based on the resource reservation pattern by a sensing procedure or a random selection procedure. In some embodiments, in response to the resource reservation pattern being the slot level resource reservation pattern, the one or more resources are represented in terms of slots. In some other embodiments, in response to the resource reservation pattern being the sub-slot level resource reservation patter, the one or more resources are represented in terms of sub-slots.

FIG. 13 illustrates a flow chart of a method for determining a resource reservation pattern according to some embodiments of the present application. The embodiments of FIG. 13 may be performed by a network node (e.g., a BS, which may be BS 102 illustrated and shown in FIG. 1) . Although described with respect to a network node, it should be understood that other devices may be configured to perform a method similar to that of FIG. 13.

In the exemplary method 1300 as shown in FIG. 13, in operation 1301, a network node (e.g., BS 102 illustrated and shown in FIG. 1) determines a resource reservation pattern of a UE (e.g., UE 101a illustrated and shown in FIG. 1) . The resource reservation pattern is a slot level resource reservation pattern or a sub-slot level resource reservation pattern. In operation 1302, the network node transmits, to the UE, an indication indicating the resource reservation pattern of the UE.

It is contemplated that the method illustrated in FIG. 13 may include other operation (s) not shown, for example, any operation (s) described with respect to FIGS. 4-12. For example, according to some embodiments, the indication is represented by one bit. According to some other embodiments, the indication is a sidelink slot pattern identifier (ID) . According to some embodiments, the indication is transmitted via at least one of: (1) RRC signaling; (2) a MAC CE; or (3) DCI.

According to some embodiments, the network node transmits, to the UE, configuration information regarding the resource reservation pattern. According to some embodiments, the configuration information is transmitted via at least one of: (1) RRC signaling; (2) a MAC CE; or (3) DCI. According to some embodiments, the configuration information is associated with one of: a resource pool; a zone; and a frequency band.

(1) A window length of a window of resources to be reserved by the UE.

(2) A maximum number of resources reserved in the window.

(4) One or more frequency offsets associated with the window.

(6) A time period value of the window.

(7) A number of repetitions of a first reserved resource in the time domain.

Details described in all of the foregoing embodiments of the present disclosure (e.g., embodiments of FIGS. 4-10) are applicable for the embodiments shown in FIGS. 11-13. It should be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the sequence of the operations in exemplary procedure in the embodiments of FIGS. 11-13 may be changed and some of the operations in exemplary procedure in the embodiments of FIGS. 11-13 may be eliminated or modified, without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

The method (s) of the present disclosure can be implemented on a programmed processor. However, controllers, flowcharts, and modules may also be implemented on a general purpose or special purpose computer, a programmed microprocessor or microcontroller and peripheral integrated circuit elements, an integrated circuit, a hardware electronic or logic circuit such as a discrete element circuit, a programmable logic device, or the like. In general, any device that has a finite state machine capable of implementing the flowcharts shown in the FIG. smay be used to implement the processing functions of the present disclosure.

While this disclosure has been described with specific embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications, and variations may be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, various components of the embodiments may be interchanged, added, or substituted in the other embodiments. Also, all of the elements of each FIG. are not necessary for operation of the disclosed embodiments. For example, those having ordinary skills in the art would be enabled to make and use the teachings of the disclosure by simply employing the elements of the independent claims. Accordingly, embodiments of the disclosure as set forth herein are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

In this document, the terms "includes, " "including, " or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that includes a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. An element proceeded by "a, " "an, " or the like does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes the element. Also, the term "another" is defined as at least a second or more. The term "having" and the like, as used herein, are defined as "including.

Claims

A user equipment (UE) , comprising:

a processor; and

a wireless transceiver coupled to the processor,

wherein the processor is configured:

to obtain, based on configuration or pre-configuration, an indication indicating a resource reservation pattern of the UE, wherein the resource reservation pattern of the UE is a slot level resource reservation pattern or a sub-slot level resource reservation pattern; and

to transmit, to other UE, the indication via the wireless transceiver over a sidelink of the UE.
The UE of Claim 1, wherein the indication is represented by one bit.
The UE of Claim 1, wherein the indication is a sidelink slot pattern identifier (ID) .
The UE of Claim 1, wherein the indication is obtained via at least one of:

radio resource control (RRC) signaling;

a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) ; or

downlink control information (DCI) .
The UE of Claim 1, wherein the indication is carried in sidelink control information (SCI) transmitted from the UE.
The UE of Claim 1, wherein the processor is configured:

to obtain configuration information regarding the resource reservation pattern.
The UE of Claim 6, wherein the configuration information is obtained via at least one of:

radio resource control (RRC) signaling;

a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) ; or

downlink control information (DCI) .
The UE of Claim 1, wherein the processor is configured:

to transmit, to the other UE, configuration information regarding the resource reservation pattern.
The UE of Claim 8, wherein the configuration information is carried in sidelink control information (SCI) transmitted from the UE.
The UE of Claim 6 or Claim 8, wherein the configuration information is associated with one of:

a resource pool;

a zone; and

a frequency band.
The UE of Claim 6 or Claim 8, wherein the configuration information includes one or more items, and wherein the one or more items include at least one of:

a window length of a window of resources to be reserved by the UE;

a maximum number of resources reserved in the window;

one or more time offsets associated with the window;

one or more frequency offsets associated with the window;

a bandwidth;

a time period value of the window; or

a number of repetitions of a first reserved resource in the time domain.
The UE of Claim 11, wherein:

in response to the resource reservation pattern being the sub-slot level resource reservation pattern, at least one of the one or more items is represented by a number of sub-slots; or

in response to the resource reservation pattern being the slot level resource reservation pattern, the at least one of the one or more items is represented by a number of slots.
The UE of Claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to:

to select one or more resources based on the resource reservation pattern by a sensing procedure or a random selection procedure.
The UE of Claim 13, wherein:

in response to the resource reservation pattern being the slot level resource reservation pattern, the one or more resources are represented in terms of slots; or

in response to the resource reservation pattern being the sub-slot level resource reservation pattern, the one or more resources are represented in terms of sub-slots.
A network node, comprising:

a processor; and

a wireless transceiver coupled to the processor,

wherein the processor is configured:

to determine a resource reservation pattern of a user equipment (UE) , wherein the resource reservation pattern is a slot level resource reservation pattern or a sub-slot level resource reservation pattern; and

to transmit, via the wireless transceiver to the UE, an indication indicating the resource reservation pattern of the UE.