CN111386739B

CN111386739B - Method and user equipment operable for bandwidth part timer configuration

Info

Publication number: CN111386739B
Application number: CN201880074911.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 石聪; 沈嘉; 徐婧
Original assignee: Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp Ltd
Current assignee: Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp Ltd
Priority date: 2017-12-01
Filing date: 2018-11-30
Publication date: 2021-11-09
Anticipated expiration: 2038-11-30
Also published as: CN111386739A; WO2019105472A1; KR20200088798A; JP2021504988A

Abstract

A method and user equipment operable for bandwidth part (BWP) timer configuration are provided. The method comprises the following steps: the method may include receiving a downlink allocation from a network node over a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) on the activated BWP, and controlling a BWP timer associated with the activated BWP in accordance with the downlink allocation.

Description

Method and user equipment operable for bandwidth part timer configuration

Background of the disclosure

1. Field of disclosure

The present disclosure relates to the field of communication systems, and more particularly, to a method and user equipment operable for bandwidth part (BWP) timer configuration.

2. Description of the related Art

When a bandwidth part (BWP) timer is less than the duration of the data transmission, the device (e.g., user equipment) does not send and/or receive the remaining data. In other words, a data transfer interruption may also occur due to the expiration of the BWP timer.

There is a need to provide a new technical solution operable for a method and a user equipment for configuring a bandwidth part (BWP) timer.

SUMMARY

An object of the present disclosure is to propose a method and a user equipment operable for a bandwidth part (BWP) timer configuration to ensure data transmission.

In a first aspect of the disclosure, a user equipment operable for bandwidth part (BWP) timer configuration includes a memory, a transceiver, and a processor coupled to the memory and the transceiver. The processor is configured to control the transceiver to receive a downlink allocation (assignment) from the network node over a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) on the active BWP and to control a BWP timer associated with the active BWP in accordance with the downlink allocation.

In a second aspect of the present disclosure, a method operable for bandwidth part (BWP) timer configuration of a user equipment comprises: the method may further include receiving a downlink allocation from the network node over a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) on the activated BWP and controlling a BWP timer associated with the activated BWP in accordance with the downlink allocation.

In a third aspect of the disclosure, a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium has instructions stored thereon which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the above-described method.

In a fourth aspect of the disclosure, a terminal device includes a processor and a memory configured to store a computer program. The processor is configured to execute a computer program stored in the memory to perform the above-described method.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure or related art, the following drawings, which will be described in the embodiments, are briefly introduced. It is apparent that the drawings are only some embodiments of the disclosure and that other drawings can be derived by one of ordinary skill in the art without setting a premise.

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a user equipment that may be used for a bandwidth part (BWP) timer configuration according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of BWP timer configuration available to a user equipment according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a control method of a BWP timer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a control method of a BWP timer according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a control method of a BWP timer according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a control method of a BWP timer according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 7 is a block diagram of a wireless communication system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed description of the embodiments

Embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings by technical subject matter, structural features, attained objects, and effects. In particular, the terminology used in the embodiments of the present disclosure is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure.

Fig. 1 illustrates that, in some embodiments, a User Equipment (UE)10 operable for bandwidth part (BWP) timer configuration may include a processor 11, a memory 12, and a transceiver 13. The processor 11 may be configured to implement the proposed functions, processes and/or methods described in this specification. Various layers of the air interface protocol may be implemented in the processor 11. The memory 12 is operatively coupled with the processor 11 and stores various information to operate the processor 11. The transceiver 13 is operatively coupled to the processor 11 and transmits and/or receives radio signals.

Processor 11 may include an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), other chipset, logic circuit and/or data processing device. The memory 12 may include Read Only Memory (ROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), flash memory, memory cards, storage media, and/or other storage devices. The transceiver 13 may include a baseband circuit to process radio frequency signals. When an embodiment is implemented in software, the techniques described herein may be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, and so on) that perform the functions described herein. These modules may be stored in memory 12 and executed by processor 11. The memory 12 may be implemented within the processor 11 or external to the processor 11, in which case the memory 12 may be communicatively coupled to the processor 11 via various means as is known in the art.

According to sidelink (sidelink) technology developed under third generation partnership project (3GPP) new air interface (NR) release 16 and beyond, communication between UEs involves vehicle-to-anything (V2X) communication, including vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P), and vehicle-to-infrastructure/network (V2I/N). The UEs communicate directly with each other via a sidelink interface, such as a PC5 interface.

In some embodiments, the processor 11 is configured to control the transceiver 13 to receive downlink allocations from the network node over a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) on the active BWP and to control a BWP timer associated with the active BWP according to the downlink allocations.

Fig. 2 illustrates a method 200 operable for BWP timer configuration of the user equipment 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method 200 comprises the following steps: at block 202, a downlink allocation is received from a network node over a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) on the active BWP, and at block 204, a BWP timer associated with the active BWP is controlled in accordance with the downlink allocation.

In some embodiments, the BWP timer is, for example, a BWP inactivity timer. The user device is in an active or active mode when the user device is sending and receiving data over the network. When in the active or active mode, the user equipment may receive and transmit data over the network substantially without delay due to establishing a connection with the network. After a predetermined amount of time during which there is no data transmission between the user equipment and the network, the user equipment will automatically switch to an inactive or inactive mode. The amount of inactivity time before the user equipment switches to the inactive or inactive mode may be managed by the BWP inactivity timer.

Fig. 1 and 3 show that, in some embodiments, the PDCCH carries Downlink Control Information (DCI)300, the Downlink Control Information (DCI)300 including downlink assignments. In some embodiments, if the downlink allocation is not stopped when the activated BWP expires, controlling the BWP timer associated with the activated BWP according to the downlink allocation comprises: the processor 11 starts or restarts the BWP timer during data transmission. For example, if the activated BWP expires after the first transmission 301 of transport blocks and the second transmission 302 of transport blocks carried by the downlink allocation (i.e., the first transmission 301 and the second transmission 302 of transport blocks carried by the downlink allocation are of a duration for which the BWP timer is valid), but the downlink allocation has not ceased, controlling the BWP timer associated with the activated BWP according to the downlink allocation comprises: at the beginning of the third transmission 303 of transport blocks of the downlink allocation bearer, the processor 11 starts or restarts the BWP timer such that the third transmission 303 and the fourth transmission 304 of transport blocks of the downlink allocation bearer are the valid duration of the BWP timer.

Fig. 1, 4 and 5 show that, in some embodiments, the PDCCH carries Downlink Control Information (DCI)300 including downlink assignments. In some embodiments, when the transceiver 13 receives the DCI 300, the processor 11 stops the BWP timer at the beginning of the data transmission (as shown in fig. 5) or during the data transmission (as shown in fig. 4). In some embodiments, after the transceiver 13 receives the DCI 300, the processor 11 stops the BWP timer at the beginning of the data transmission (as shown in fig. 5) or during the data transmission (as shown in fig. 4). The processor 11 restarts the BWP timer after the data transmission (as shown in fig. 5) or restarts the BWP timer during the data transmission (as shown in fig. 4).

Fig. 1 and 4 show that, in some embodiments, processor 11 stops the BWP timer after the last symbol of the first transmission 401 of transport blocks carried by the downlink allocation, such that the first transmission 401 of transport blocks carried by the downlink allocation is the active duration of the BWP timer. The second transmission 402 and the third transmission 403 of transport blocks carried by the downlink allocation are also the valid duration of the BWP timer. Controlling a BWP timer associated with an active BWP according to a downlink allocation includes: processor 11 restarts the BWP timer at the first symbol of the last transmission of the transport block carried by the downlink assignment, e.g., fourth transmission 404, such that the fourth transmission 404 of the transport block carried by the downlink assignment is the active duration of the BWP timer.

Fig. 1 and 5 show that, in some embodiments, controlling a BWP timer associated with an active BWP according to a downlink allocation comprises: the processor 11 stops or starts the BWP timer at the first symbol of the downlink allocation. In some embodiments, processor 11 restarts the BWP timer after the last symbol of the downlink allocation. The first 501, second 502, third 503 and fourth 504 transmissions of transport blocks carried by the downlink allocation are the valid duration of the BWP timer.

Fig. 1 and 6 show that, in some embodiments, the PDCCH carries Downlink Control Information (DCI)300 including downlink assignments. In some embodiments, controlling the BWP timer associated with the active BWP according to the downlink allocation comprises: when a retransmission occurs, the processor 11 restarts the BWP timer. The retransmission may be an automatic retransmission. In detail, processor 11 starts or restarts a BWP timer if a PDCCH indicating a downlink allocation is received on an active BWP, and processor 11 starts or restarts the BWP timer if a downlink allocation for retransmission is received on the same active BWP as the first transmission 601. If a retransmission is received on an active BWP (this is indicated by the latest PDCCH), processor 11 starts or restarts the BWP timer. Processor 11 restarts the BWP timer at the first symbol of the first, second, third and

fourth transmissions

601, 602, 603, 604 of the transport blocks carried by the downlink allocation such that the first, second, third and

fourth transmissions

601, 602, 603, 604 of the transport blocks carried by the downlink allocation are all valid durations of the BWP timer.

In some embodiments, the BWP timer is determined by a configuration value and a data transmission duration. In detail, the data transmission duration ranges between the first symbol of the downlink allocation and the last symbol of the last transmission of the transport block carried by the downlink allocation. The BWP timer is the maximum value of the configuration value and the data transmission duration. In some embodiments, the DCI is independent of the first transmission of a transport block of the downlink allocation bearer. For example, there is a duration, e.g., 1 microsecond, between the DCI and the first transmission.

Fig. 7 is a block diagram of an example system 700 for wireless communication in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiments described herein may be implemented as a system using any suitably configured hardware and/or software. Fig. 7 shows a system 700 that includes at least Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry 710, baseband circuitry 720, application circuitry 730, memory/storage 740, display 750, camera 760, sensor 770, and input/output (I/O) interface 780 coupled to each other as shown.

The application circuitry 730 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor may include any combination of general-purpose processors and special-purpose processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors). The processor may be coupled with the memory/storage and configured to execute instructions stored in the memory/storage to implement various applications and/or operating systems running on the system.

The baseband circuitry 720 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor may comprise a baseband processor. The baseband circuitry may handle various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks through the RF circuitry. The radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation, encoding, decoding, radio frequency shifting, and the like. In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry may provide communications compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry may support communication with an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (EUTRAN) and/or other Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks (WMANs), Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs). Embodiments in which the baseband circuitry is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry.

In various embodiments, baseband circuitry 720 may include circuitry to operate with signals that are not strictly considered to be at baseband frequencies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry may include circuitry that operates with signals having an intermediate frequency between the baseband frequency and the radio frequency.

RF circuitry 710 may enable communication with a wireless network using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, the RF circuitry may include switches, filters, amplifiers, and the like to facilitate communication with the wireless network.

In various embodiments, RF circuitry 710 may include circuitry that operates on signals that are not strictly considered to be at radio frequencies. For example, in some embodiments, the RF circuitry may include circuitry that operates with signals having an intermediate frequency between baseband and radio frequencies.

In various embodiments, the transmitter circuitry, control circuitry, or receiver circuitry discussed above with respect to the user equipment, eNB, or gNB may be embodied in whole or in part in one or more of RF circuitry, baseband circuitry, and/or application circuitry. As used herein, "circuitry" may refer to, be part of, or include an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) and/or memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that executes one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality. In some embodiments, the electronic device circuitry may be implemented in, or functions associated with, one or more software or firmware modules.

In some embodiments, some or all of the constituent components in the baseband circuitry, application circuitry, and/or memory/storage may be implemented together on a system on a chip (SOC).

Memory/storage 740 may be used to load and store data and/or instructions (e.g., for a system). The memory/storage of one embodiment may comprise any combination of suitable volatile memory (e.g., Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM)) and/or non-volatile memory (e.g., flash memory).

In various embodiments, I/O interface 780 may include one or more user interfaces designed to enable user interaction with the system and/or peripheral component interfaces designed to enable peripheral component interaction with the system. The user interface may include, but is not limited to, a physical keyboard or keypad, a touchpad, a speaker, a microphone, and the like. The peripheral component interfaces may include, but are not limited to, a non-volatile memory port, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port, an audio jack, and a power interface.

In various embodiments, the sensor 770 may include one or more sensing devices to determine environmental conditions and/or location information related to the system. In some embodiments, the sensors may include, but are not limited to, a gyroscope sensor, an accelerometer, a proximity sensor, an ambient light sensor, and a positioning unit. The positioning unit may also be part of or interact with the baseband circuitry and/or RF circuitry to communicate with components of a positioning network, such as Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites.

In various embodiments, display 750 may include a display, such as a liquid crystal display and a touch screen display. In various embodiments, system 700 may be a mobile computing device, such as, but not limited to, a laptop computing device, a tablet computing device, a netbook, an ultrabook, a smartphone, and the like. In various embodiments, the system may have more or fewer components and/or different architectures. Where appropriate, the methods described herein may be implemented as a computer program. The computer program may be stored on a storage medium, such as a non-transitory storage medium.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a method and a user equipment operable for a bandwidth part (BWP) timer configuration are provided to ensure data transmission. Embodiments of the present disclosure are a combination of techniques/processes that may be employed in 3GPP specifications to create an end product.

One of ordinary skill in the art would understand that each of the units, algorithms, and steps described and disclosed in the embodiments of the present disclosure is implemented using electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether a function is run in hardware or software depends on the application conditions and design requirements of the solution.

Those of ordinary skill in the art may implement the functionality of each particular application in different ways without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. A person skilled in the art will understand that he/she may refer to the working processes of the systems, devices and units in the above embodiments, since the working processes of the systems, devices and units are substantially the same. For ease of description and simplicity, these operations will not be described in detail.

It should be understood that the systems, devices, and methods disclosed in embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in other ways. The above embodiments are merely exemplary. The division of cells is based solely on logic functions, while other divisions exist in implementations. Multiple units or components may be combined or integrated in another system. It is also possible to omit or skip certain features. On the other hand, the mutual coupling, direct coupling or communicative coupling shown or discussed can be achieved indirectly or communicatively via some port, device or element, whether electrically, mechanically or otherwise.

The elements that are separate components for explanation may or may not be physically separate. The unit for displaying is a physical unit or not, i.e. located in one place or distributed over a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units are used according to the purpose of the embodiment. Furthermore, each functional unit in each embodiment may be integrated in one processing unit, physically separated, or integrated in one processing unit having two or more units.

If the software functional unit is implemented, used and sold as a product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions proposed by the present disclosure can be implemented substantially or partially in the form of software products. Alternatively, portions of the technical solutions that are advantageous for the conventional techniques may be implemented in the form of software products. The software product in the computer is stored in a storage medium and includes a plurality of commands for a computing device (e.g., a personal computer, server, or network device) to execute all or some of the steps disclosed by embodiments of the present disclosure. The storage medium includes a U disk, a removable hard disk, a Read Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a floppy disk, or other type of medium capable of storing program code.

While the present disclosure has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiment, but is intended to cover various arrangements made without departing from the scope of the broadest interpretation of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A user equipment operable for bandwidth part BWP timer configuration, comprising:

a memory;

a transceiver; and

a processor coupled to the memory and the transceiver,

wherein the processor is configured to:

control the transceiver to receive a downlink allocation from a network node over a physical downlink control channel, PDCCH, on an activated BWP; and

controlling the BWP timer associated with the activated BWP in accordance with the downlink allocation; wherein controlling the BWP timer associated with the activated BWP in accordance with the downlink allocation comprises:

the processor stopping the BWP timer at a first symbol of the downlink allocation or after a last symbol of a first transmission of a transport block carried by the downlink allocation;

wherein the processor is further configured to restart the BWP timer after a last symbol of the downlink allocation or at a first symbol of a last transmission of a transport block carried by the downlink allocation.

2. The user equipment according to claim 1, wherein the PDCCH bearer comprises downlink control information, DCI, of the downlink allocation.

3. The user equipment according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, if the downlink allocation does not stop at the expiration of the active BWP, controlling the BWP timer associated with the active BWP according to the downlink allocation comprises:

the processor starts or restarts the BWP timer during data transmission.

4. The user equipment of claim 2, wherein controlling the BWP timer associated with the activated BWP in accordance with the downlink allocation comprises:

the processor stops the BWP timer at a start of data transmission or during data transmission when the transceiver receives the DCI or after the transceiver receives the DCI.

5. The user equipment of claim 1 or 2, wherein the processor is further configured to restart the BWP timer when a retransmission occurs.

6. The user equipment of claim 1 or 2, wherein, if the PDCCH indicating the downlink allocation is received on the active BWP, controlling a BWP timer associated with the active BWP according to the downlink allocation comprises: the processor starts or restarts the BWP timer, an

The processor is further configured to start or restart the BWP timer if the downlink allocation for retransmission is received on the same active BWP as the first transmission.

7. The user equipment of claim 6, wherein the processor is configured to start or restart the BWP timer if a retransmission indicated by a most recent PDCCH is received on the activated BWP.

8. The user equipment according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the BWP timer is determined by a configuration value and a data transmission duration.

9. The user equipment of claim 8, wherein the data transmission duration ranges between a first symbol of the downlink allocation and a last symbol of a last transmission of a transport block carried by the downlink allocation.

10. The user equipment according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the BWP timer is a maximum of the configuration value and the data transmission duration.

11. A method of bandwidth part BWP timer configuration operable for a user equipment, comprising:

receiving a downlink allocation from a network node over a physical downlink control channel, PDCCH, on an activated BWP; and

controlling the BWP timer associated with the activated BWP in accordance with the downlink allocation; wherein the PDCCH carries Downlink Control Information (DCI) including the downlink assignment; controlling the BWP timer associated with the activated BWP in accordance with the downlink allocation comprises:

stopping the BWP timer at a first symbol of the downlink allocation or after a last symbol of a first transmission of a transport block carried by the downlink allocation; wherein the method further comprises: restarting the BWP timer after a last symbol of the downlink allocation or at a first symbol of a last transmission of a transport block carried by the downlink allocation.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein if the downlink allocation does not stop when the activated BWP expires, controlling the BWP timer associated with the activated BWP according to the downlink allocation comprises: the BWP timer is started or restarted during data transmission.

13. The method of claim 11, controlling the BWP timer associated with the activated BWP in accordance with the downlink allocation comprises:

stopping the BWP timer at a start of data transmission or during data transmission when or after receiving the DCI.

14. The method according to any of claims 11-13, further comprising restarting the BWP timer when a retransmission occurs.

15. The method of any one of claims 11-13, wherein, if the PDCCH indicating the downlink allocation is received on the active BWP, controlling a BWP timer associated with the active BWP in accordance with the downlink allocation comprises: starting or restarting the BWP timer, an

If the downlink allocation for retransmission is received on the same active BWP as the first transmission, the method further comprises starting or restarting the BWP timer.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein if a retransmission indicated by the latest PDCCH is received on the active BWP, the method comprises starting or restarting the BWP timer.

17. The method according to any of claims 11-13, wherein the BWP timer is determined by a configuration value and a data transmission duration.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the data transmission duration ranges between a first symbol of the downlink assignment and a last symbol of a last transmission of a transport block carried by the downlink assignment.

19. The method according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the BWP timer is a maximum of the configuration value and the data transmission duration.

20. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon, which when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any of claims 11-13.

21. A terminal device, comprising: a processor and a memory configured to store a computer program, the processor being configured to execute the computer program stored in the memory to perform the method of any of claims 11 to 13.