WO2019028847A1

WO2019028847A1 - Resource allocation

Info

Publication number: WO2019028847A1
Application number: PCT/CN2017/097142
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jin Yang; Youxiong Lu; Shuanghong Huang
Original assignee: Zte Corporation
Priority date: 2017-08-11
Filing date: 2017-08-11
Publication date: 2019-02-14
Also published as: CN110999357A; CN110999357B

Abstract

One or more devices, systems, and/or methods for receiving a forward sidelink control information from a node, determining a type of the forward sidelink control information, and based upon the type, receiving a sidelink data transmission from the node or transmitting sidelink data to the node. One or more devices, systems, and/or methods for transmitting a forward sidelink control information to a node, wherein a type of the forward sidelink control information is indicative of whether the node receives a sidelink data transmission or transmits sidelink data, and based upon the type, receiving the sidelink data transmission from the node or transmitting the sidelink data to the node.

Description

RESOURCE ALLOCATION

BACKGROUND

In a communication system that utilizes sidelink communication, such sidelink communication may help save radio spectrum resource, may help reduce the data transmission pressure upon the network of the system, may help reduce system resource consumption, may help increase spectral efficiency, may help reduce the network (e.g., base station) transmission power consumption and may help improve network operation costs. When the service between user equipment (UE) is required to be transmitted, the service data between the UEs is forwarded by the base station transmitted from a data source UE to a target receiving UE directly via sidelink without passing through the base station. However, in such a sidelink communication system, some service data between the UEs may be handled (e.g., forwarded) by a base station of a network. Such handling of service data by the base station may still require some radio spectrum resource, cause some addition to data transmission pressure upon the network of the system, may consume some system resource, may cause some decrease in spectral efficiency, may contribute to the network (e.g., base station) transmission power consumption and may contribute to some network operation costs.

SUMMARY

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure a method is provided. The method includes receiving forward sidelink control information from a node, determining a type of the forward sidelink control information； and based upon the type, receiving a sidelink data transmission from the node or transmitting sidelink data to the node.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure a method is provided. The method includes transmitting forward sidelink control information to a node, determining a type of the forward sidelink control information, and based upon the type, determining an indication in the forward sidelink control information, a resource for transmitting the forward sidelink control information, and a resource indicated in the forward sidelink control information.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure provides a communication device. The device includes a processor, and a memory including processor-executable instructions that when executed by the processor cause performance of a method according to an aspect disclosed herein.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure provides a non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon processor-executable instructions that when executed cause performance of a method according to an aspect disclosed herein.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

While the techniques presented herein may be embodied in alternative forms, the particular embodiments illustrated in the drawings are only a few examples that are supplemental of the description provided herein. These embodiments are not to be interpreted in a limiting manner, such as limiting the claims appended hereto.

FIG. 1A is schematic diagram illustrating sidelink communication in accordance with an aspect of the disclosed subject matter.

FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram illustrating sidelink communication, as a comparative to FIG. 1A.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an LTE system frame structure.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an LTE system resource structure.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a sidelink PSCCH /PSSCH resource pool configuration diagram, and shows a PSCCH /PSSCH resource pool period.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a sidelink PSCCH /PSSCH resource pool configuration diagram.

FIG. 6 is an example schematic diagram of a process for determining a SCI type in accordance with an aspect of the disclosed subject matter.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a first example method in accordance with an aspect of the disclosed subject matter.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a second example method in accordance with an aspect of the disclosed subject matter.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram representation of resources for use in a third example method in accordance with an aspect of the disclosed subject matter.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram representation of resources for use in a fourth example method in accordance with an aspect of the disclosed subject matter.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram representation of resources for use in a fifth example method in accordance with an aspect of the disclosed subject matter.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a sixth example method in accordance with an aspect of the disclosed subject matter.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a seventh example method in accordance with an aspect of the disclosed subject matter.

FIG. 14 is an illustration of a scenario involving an example configuration of a base station (BS) that may utilize and/or implement at least a portion of the techniques presented herein.

FIG. 15 is an illustration of a scenario involving an example configuration of a user equipment (UE) that may utilize and/or implement at least a portion of the techniques presented herein.

FIG. 16 is an illustration of a scenario featuring an example non-transitory computer readable medium in accordance with one or more of the provisions set forth herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Subject matter will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and which show, by way of illustration, specific example embodiments. This description is not intended as an extensive or detailed discussion of known concepts. Details that are known generally to those of ordinary skill in the relevant art may have been omitted, or may be handled in summary fashion.

The following subject matter may be embodied in a variety of different forms, such as methods, devices, components, and/or systems. Accordingly, this subject matter is not intended to be construed as limited to any example embodiments set forth herein. Rather, example embodiments are provided merely to be illustrative. Such embodiments may, for example, take the form of hardware, software, firmware or any combination thereof.

Herein it is to be appreciated that some examples are presented with descriptions for one or more user equipment (UE) and/or base station (eNB) /core network. It is to be understood that these are examples of nodes and that the term node is to be construed to include such structures/devices, and that the term nodes is to be construed to include any other structures/devices for accomplishing the disclosed functions/acts.

FIG. 1A is a schematic representation of an aspect of the disclosed subject matter. Within FIG. 1A, a first and a second user equipment (UE) (e.g., 1550A and 1550B, first and second nodes) conduct sidelink (SL) communication without need for communication proceeding to/through a base station (eNB) /core network (e.g., 1450) . In one example, the first and the second UE can be identified as a remote UE and a relay UE. Again, each of the remote UE and the relay UE is a respective node.

In one example, the relay UE can be a UE with stronger capability than a remote UE. Therefore, the relay UE can schedule resources for the remote UE. In another example, the relay UE can be of a same type as a remote UE, e.g., with the same capability, and it is configured by network as a relay UE, or because it is closer to serving the base station. Both relay UE and remote UE can be any type of communication devices.

It is to be noted that relay UE and remote UE are able to conduct efficient sidelink communication as will be discussed further following for several examples. Within such subject matter, several beneficial aspects/features may be obtained. For example, the disclosed subject matter can use sidelink resources more efficiently, and also reduce the network side burden, reduce system signaling overhead, improve system resource utilization, and meet a variety of UE business needs. Sidelink communication can save radio spectrum resources, can reduce the data transmission pressure of the core network, can reduce the system resource consumption, can increase the spectral efficiency of the cellular communication system, can reduce the terminal transmit power consumption and can save the network operation cost.

As a comparison and to provide an appreciation of disclosed subject matter, a discussion of illustrating sidelink communication according to another embodiment is provided. Specifically, attention is directed to FIG. 1B. In the sidelink communication system of FIG. 1B, when the sidelink communication between the first and second user equipment (e.g., 1550A and 1550B) is required to be transmitted, there is some control information or data that is handled by the base station (e.g., 1450) . After such handling of communication by the base station, then the direct sidelink communication between the two UEs can occur.

Turning to FIGS. 2-5, a brief background explanation of the communication is provided. Focusing upon FIG. 2, in a long term evolution (LTE) system, the radio resource is divided into units of radio frames in the time domain. In one example, each frame is 10 milliseconds (ms) and contains 10 subframes. Each subframe is 1 ms, divided into 0.5ms 2 slots (slot) . In the frequency domain, resources are allocated in units of subcarriers. In one example, each unit contains 15 kHz or 7.5 kHz resources.

According to the above time domain and frequency domain resource division unit, the eNB schedules sidelink resources for the UE. Specifically, the eNB operates upon the time domain to sub-frame units for the resource scheduling instructions, and upon the frequency domain to resource blocks (RB) for the unit Instruction. The RB defined as the time domain contains a slot, and in the frequency domain contains continuous

subcarriers,

24 as shown in the example of FIG. 3. Depending on the scheduling requirements, the eNB may flexibly allocate and indicate one or more RB resources for a UE.

As such, in the sidelink communication method, the UE uses the resources in the sidelink resource pool to transmit or receive signals. The sidelink resource pool includes a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) , which is used to carry the sidelink control information, and the physical side link shared channel (PSSCH) resource pool, which is used to carry the sidelink data transmission. Based on the PSCCH and PSSCH resource pools, the UE uses the PSCCH resource to send the side link control information (SCI) , which is used to indicate the PSSCH resources used by the UE to transmit the sidelink data and the associated control information. In the sidelink communication scenario for FIG. 1B, the UE, itself, cannot schedule sidelink resources and there is no effective solution for this issue.

Going further into the topic, as presented above for the sidelink communication associated with the other embodiment, the sidelink resource contains the PSCCH resource pool and the PSSCH resource pool. The PSCCH resource pool is a set of resources used to carry the sidelink Control Information (SCI) , which is configured by the network side through high-level signaling configuration or system pre-configuration. The PSCCH resource pool contains one or more subframes in the time domain. Subframes in each PSCCH resource pool may also be referred to as PSCCH subframes. Each PSCCH subframe may be continuous or discontinuous. The PSCCH resource pool contains one or more RBs in the frequency domain, and the plurality of RBs contained may be continuous or discontinuous.

A PSSCH resource pool is a set of resources used to carry sidelink service data, which is configured by the network side through high-level signaling configuration or system pre-configuration. The PSSCH resource pool contains one or more subframes in the time domain. Subframes in each PSSCH resource pool may also be referred to as PSSCH subframes, and each PSSCH subframe may be continuous or discontinuous.

PSCCH /PSSCH resource pool can have a variety of configurations. Some examples are shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 4 shows a sidelink resource pool configuration, which referred to as Case A. The PSCCH /PSSCH resource pool is periodic, and has a same period of the two. Each cycle contains a number of PSCCH subframes, and a number of PSSCH subframes, each PSCCH subframe contains several RBs as PSCCH resources, and each PSSCH subframe contains several RBs as PSSCH resources. FIG. 5 shows a sidelink resource pool configuration, referred to as Case B, wherein the PSCCH resource pool and PSSCH resource pool have same subframes. In the frequency domain, at enlargement (a) , the PSSCH resource pool contains several sub-channels, and each sub-channel contains k RBs. The RB of the PSCCH resource pool in the frequency domain is the two RBs with the smallest RB index in each sub-channel. In the frequency domain, at enlargement (b) , the PSSCH resource pool contains several sub-channels, and each sub-channel contains k RBs. The PSCCH resource pool contains several RBs in the frequency domain, and the RBs in the PSCCH resource pool are not adjacent to the RBs in the PSSCH resource pool, and each PSCCH resource contains two RBs.

So, in the sidelink communication system, the sidelink resources are used for transmission of data between the UEs. The transmitting UE transmits the sidelink control information (SCI) on the PSCCH resource, instructs the receiving UE regarding the PSSCH resources it should use for transmitting sidelink data, and the associated configuration information, and further sends sidelink data on the indicated PSSCH resource. So, in some respects, the transmitting end UE is to operate similar to a base station.

The Sidelink communication shown within FIG. 1B is broadcast communication. The Sidelink UE does not have the function of scheduling another UE having communication with it. The disclosed subject matter solves the problem of UEs in Sidelink communication not being capable to scheduling and indicating Sidelink resources. So, in accordance with an aspect of the disclosed subject matter, one UE (FIG. 1A) can schedule and indicate Sidelink resources for another UE (e.g., two nodes) . On the one hand, Sidelink resources can be scheduled more flexibly and efficiently, and also reduce the network side burden, reduce system signaling overhead, improve system resource utilization, and meet a variety of UE business needs.

In some enhanced sidelink communication application scenarios, UE pairs (e.g., two nodes) that perform sidelink communication can be categorized as the remote UE and the relay UE. Where the sidelink resource used by the remote UE for propagation sidelink signals can be scheduled by the relay UE, the relay UE using SCI to indicate the sidelink resource allocation for the remote UE, including PSCCH resource and /or PSSCH resource, and further Including other configuration instructions such as MCS, TPC (Transmission Power Control) , data retransmission indicator, etc. The scheduling SCI, transmitted by the relay UE and received by the remote UE, contains sidelink resource assignment for the remote UE, named as the forward SCI type 1. It indicates the remote UE resources that relay UE allocates to it and associated control information.

On the other hand, the relay UE may transmit its sidelink signal on sidelink resources, including transmits forward SCI on PSCCH resource, and this type of forward SCI indicates the PSSCH resources used by the relay UE and other control parameters, this type of forward SCI is named as forward SCI type 2. In short, forward SCI type 2 indicates resources that relay UE itself uses for its sidelink data transmission and associated control information to the remote UE.

As mentioned, the relay UE which relays the signals between the remote UE and the network. The relay UE can be one of the UE pairs which perform sidelink communication with resource scheduling ability. The sidelink resources indicated in the forward SCI type 1, for the remote UE sidelink transmitting, can be determined by eNB (as a network site) , and forwarded by the relay UE to the remote UE； or, can be determined by the relay UE itself, and then indicated to the remote UE.

Turing now to the method of the disclosed subject matter attention is directed to FIG. 6. In general, it is to be recalled that the disclosed subject matter herein provides a solution for accomplishing sidelink communication to reduce need for communication to proceed to/though the base station. FIG. 6 shows a top-level methodology of the disclosed subject matter. Within FIG. 6, the method is initiated at act S602, wherein the remote UE blindly detects SCI in PSCCH resource pool. Next, at act S604, there is a determination of whether the received SCI is a forward SCI type 1 or a forward SCI type 2. If the received SCI is a forward SCI type 1, it means that the sidelink resources indicated in the SCI are the resources for the remote UE sidelink transmitting resources, and the remote UE should use the assigned resources to transmit its signal to the relay UE. As such, with the received SCI being a forward SCI type 1, the method proceeds to act S606.

If the received SCI is not a forward SCI type 1 (i.e., the received SCI is a forward SCI type 2) , such indicates that the received SCI provides the resources from the relay UE and some other control information. Accordingly, the method of FIG. 6 would then proceed from act S604 to act S608. Thus, the remote UE should receive/retain/use the signal on the indicated resources from the relay UE.

In addition, the relay UE may simultaneously perform sidelink communication with a plurality of remote UEs, respectively, and the relay UE needs to indicate the sidelink resource for the remote UE respectively, and when the PSCCH resource pools in which multiple remote UEs blindly detect their SCI are the same or a partial overlap, each remote UE needs to be able to correctly distinguish the received forward SCI type 1 of the current remote UE.

It is to be appreciated that the determination made at act S604 within the top-level method of FIG. 6 is made at the remote UE. The determination made at act S604 is not made elsewhere (e.g., not made at the base station since communication is not proceeding to/though the base station) . Also, the determination is made blindly since the remote UE is making the determination at act S604 at each sequence through the method of FIG. 6 solely upon the currently received communication.

So, the disclosed subject matter includes the following: receiving a forward sidelink control information from a node, determining a type of the received forward sidelink control information, and based upon the determined type, receiving sidelink data transmission from the node or transmitting sidelink data to the node. Also, the disclosed subject matter includes the following: transmitting a forward sidelink control information to a node, determining a type of the forward sidelink control information, and based upon the type, determining at least one of the following: an indication in the forward sidelink control information, a resource for transmitting the forward sidelink control information, and a resource indicated in the forward sidelink control information.

As mentioned above, in order for the remote UE to blind detect forward SCI in the PSCCH resource pool to obtain the corresponding resource allocation instruction, two issues are involved:

(i) determine whether the received forward SCI is a forward SCI type 1 or a forward SCI type 2； and

(ii) determine whether the received forward SCI is a forward SCI type 1 for the remote UE itself.

For resolution of the above issues, it is contemplated that various different solutions (e.g., resolution methods) are possible. Such various different solutions are considered to be within the scope of the disclosed subject matter. Several example solutions are provided following. However, it is to be understood that these examples are not limitations upon the breadth of the disclosed subject matter.

The first resolution method is based on transmitting/scheduling indication in the forward SCI. Specifically, this method includes setting an indication bit in the SCI to indicate that the SCI is a forward SCI type 1 (which can be referred to as “scheduling forward SCI” ) or a forward SCI type 2. An example is described following and an example flowchart is provided in FIG. 7. In the example, the 1-bit indicator bit is an indication within the SCI. Within one example, the indication, via value “1” , indicates that the SCI is a forward SCI type 1 or, via value “0” , that the SCI is a forward SCI type 2, or vice versa.

Attention is directed to FIG. 7. At act S702, the remote UE blindly detects a SCI in PSCCH resource pool. At act S704, decoding of the instructions in the SCI is performed. Specifically, it is determined whether the indication bit indicates that the SCI is a forward SCI type 1 or that the SCI is a forward SCI type 2. Within the presented example, the indicator bit would be “1” to indicate that the SCI is a forward SCI type 1 and “0” to indicate that the SCI is a forward SCI type 2. Of course, for a different example, the indication of “1” and “0” could be vice versa. Moreover, although this example presents a binary digit of value “1” or “0” , it is to be appreciated that such need not be a specific limitation and that other/different values could be used and also need not even be binary.

Turning back to the example shown within FIG. 7, if the determination at act S704 is yes (i.e., the indication is “1” ) , the method proceed to act S706. Specifically, the remote UE obtains the sidelink PSCCH and/or PSSCH resource assignment in the forward SCI type 1 and then transmits on the assigned resource.

If the determination at act S704 is no (i.e., the indication is “0” ) , the method proceed to act S708. Specifically, the remote UE has determined that the received SCI is the forward SCI type 2. So, the sidelink data transmission of the relay UE is received on the corresponding PSSCH resource according to the resources indicated in the SCI.

Wherein a backward SCI refers to the SCI in which the remote UE is sent on the configured PSCCH resource according to the scheduling instructions of the relay UE, and the backward SCI may indicate the parameters such as MCS, TPC and so on that the remote UE uses for transmitting the sidelink data over the configured PSSCH resource. The PSCCH used for transmitting the backward SCI is assigned in the forward SCI type 1 by relay UE. Again, within this example, the backward SCI is transmitted by the remote UE to the relay UE.

The second resolution method is based on UE Identification (ID) . With one example, one or more indication field are set in the forward SCI to indicate the UE ID of the UE to which the current SCI belongs.

The UE ID refers to the identification information that can clearly identify a UE. The UE ID is embodied in a plurality of types, such as: an RNTI, which can uniquely identify a UE in a cell, a sidelink UE ID, among a plurality of UEs performing sidelink communication, which can uniquely identify a UE, UE index inside of a group, that within a group, it is possible to uniquely identify a UE and so on. Among them, the relay UE may set UE index for one or more of the remote UEs to communicate with, this UE index is known to the relay UE and corresponding remote UE, and the UE index of each of the remote UEs is unique among the plurality of remote UEs which are in sidelink communication with this relay UE. Within such an approach, FIG. 8 is an example flowchart.

In this example, the forward SCI contains an N-bit indication field, which indicates the UE ID of the UE to which the current forward SCI belongs. As such, the method begins at act S802. At act S802, the remote UE blindly detects a forward SCI in PSCCH resource pool. At act S804, the UE ID is obtained from within the received SCI.

At act S806, it is determined if the UE ID is the remote UE ID. Within the presented example, when the N-bit indication field indicates the use ID is the current remote UE ID, it is determined that the current SCI is the forward SCI type 1 for current UE and indicates the sidelink resource assignment for remote UE transmitting.

The method then proceeds from act S806 to act S808. At act S808, the sidelink PSCCH and/or PSSCH resource assignment for the forward SCI type 1 is obtained and then remote UE transmitted on the assign resource. Specifically, when the remote UE determines that the received SCI is the forward SCI type 1 for scheduling its own sidelink resource, and PSCCH and PSSCH resources are indicated in SCI, remote UE sends a backward SCI on the indicated PSCCH resource and /or sends sidelink data on the indicated PSSCH resource. At act S806, it is determined if the UE ID is not the remote UE ID, within the presented example, the remote UE proceeds from Act S806 to act S810. At act S810, it is determined if the UE ID is the relay UE ID or not. When the N-bit indication field indicates that the UE ID is the relay UE ID. Thus, the SCI is the forward SCI type 2. For such, the method proceeds from act S810 to act S812. Based on the forward SCI type 2, remote UE receives signal from relay UE on the PSSCH resource indicated in the SCI. If the determination at act S810 is no, the method proceeds to act S814. Then the remote UE determine the SCI is invalid and there is no further processing to be done.

The third resolution method is based on a dedicated PSCCH resource pool. Two example cases are provided following. However, there may be other examples. As a general starting point for use of a dedicated PSCCH resource pool, reference is made to the example shown within FIG. 9.

In the first case, when the remote UE and the relay UE are configured with a dedicated PSCCH resource pool, the SCI type can be determined by sending the SCI using the resource in related dedicate PSCCH resource pool.

In a dedicated PSCCH resource pool, it is possible that it can only carry information related to the UE to which the current resource pool belongs. For example, the dedicated PSCCH resource pool of the remote UE can only carry the forward SCI type 1 for scheduling the PSSCH resource assignment for the remote UE. The relay UE's dedicated PSCCH resource pool can only carry the forward SCI type 2 that is used to indicate the relay UE sidelink data transmission.

The remote UE obtains the sidelink resource pool configuration via the network-side higher-layer or the signaling configuration from the relay UE, or system preconfiguration. The sidelink resource pool configuration includes dedicated PSCCH resource pool for the relay UE and its own dedicated PSCCH resource pool. The remote UE blindly detects SCI in the relay UE dedicated PSCCH resource pool and its own dedicated PSCCH resource pool.

When the remote UE receives the SCI in the relay UE dedicated PSCCH resource pool, it can be determined that the SCI is the forward SCI type 2. Further, the remote UE receives the sidelink data transmission of the relay UE on the corresponding PSSCH resource according to the resources indicated in the SCI. When the remote UE receives a SCI in its own dedicated resource pool, it can be determined that the SCI is the forward SCI type 1. Further, PSSCH resource for remote UE is assigned, and a PSCCH resource for backward SCI may be indicated in the SCI. The remote UE then sends backward SCI (if PSCCH is assigned) and sidelink data on the indicated resource.

Turning now specifically to the example shown within FIG. 9, the remote UE and the relay UE have their own dedicated PSCCH resource pools. The relay UE transmits the forward SCI type 2 in its PSCCH resource pool to indicate its data transmitting in PSSCH resources. In order to schedule the remote UE transmission, the relay UE indicates the forward SCI type 1 in the PSCCH resource pool of the remote UE. For the remote UE, the PSCCH resource pools for the relay UE and for itself are both reception resource pools, and the remote UE should try to blindly detect SCI in these PSCCH resource pools. When the remote UE detect a SCI in the relay UE's PSCCH resource pool, it means that the SCI is a forward SCI type 2, and when a SCI in its own PSCCH resource pool is detected, it should be a forward SCI type 1. According to the indication in the received SCI, the remote UE should receive the data on the PSSCH resource while the SCI is the forward SCI type 2, or transmit its SCI and/or data on the assigned resources while the SCI is the forward SCI type 1.

In the second case, when the remote UE shares the same dedicated resource pool with the relay UE, the dedicated resource pool at least contains the PSCCH resource pool and may further include a dedicated PSSCH resource pool. In this dedicated PSCCH resource pool, the relay UE only sends the SCI associated with the sidelink communication between relay UE and the current remote UE, and does not send an SCI for other remote UE, including forward SCI type 2 that indicates relay UE transmitting to other remote UE, and forward SCI type 1 that schedules resources for another remote UE.

The forward SCI type 2 for indicating the relay UE sidelink data transmission and the forward SCI type 1 for scheduling the remote UE sidelink resource may be carried in the dedicated resource pool shared by the remote UE with the relay UE.

When the remote UE receives the SCI in the dedicated resource pool, it can be determined that the SCI is the forward SCI type 2, or is the forward SCI type 1 related with itself. Further, the remote UE needs to distinguish between the received SCI as the forward SCI type 1 or the forward SCI type 2.

It is worth noting at this point that multiple resolution methods can be combined. The present resolution example (i.e., the third method) is an example candidate. For example, such third method can be combined with the first method (i.e., the SCI 1-bit indicator bit instructions) . The combination of methods can accomplish or improve accomplishing the distinguishing between the forward SCI type 1 and the forward SCI type 2. Or, in the other instruction fields of the SCI, distinguish the forward SCI type 1 from the forward SCI type 2 in a unique, e.g., implicit, way.

The fourth resolution method is based on a dedicated PSSCH resource pool. When the remote UE and the relay UE are configured with its dedicated PSSCH resource pool, the PSSCH resource in the dedicated PSSCH resource pool carries only the sidelink data transmission of the related UE. For example, the remote UE's dedicated PSSCH resource pool can only carry the remote UE sidelink data and the relay UE's dedicated PSSCH resource pool can only carry the relay UE sidelink data.

Based on the dedicated PSSCH resource pool, the remote UE can determine the type of SCI according to the PSSCH resource indicated in the SCI. When the indicated PSSCH resource is in the remote UE PSSCH resource pool, it can be determined that the SCI is the forward SCI type 1 and the indicated PSSCH resource is the remote UE sidelink transmission resource. When the indicated PSSCH resource is at the relay UE PSSCH resource pool, it can be determined that the SCI is the forward SCI type 2 and the indicated PSSCH resource is the relay UE sidelink transmission resource.

The remote UE is configured via the network-side high-level configuration or the signaling configuration of the relay UE, or the system is preconfigured to obtain the sidelink resource pool configuration, including the relay UE's dedicated PSSCH resource pool, and its own dedicated PSSCH resource pool, and PSCCH resource pool. The remote UE blindly detects SCI in the PSCCH resource pool and decodes the PSSCH resource allocation indicated in the SCI.

When the indicated PSSCH resource in the received SCI is included in the relay UE dedicated PSSCH resource pool it can be determined that the SCI is the forward SCI type 2. Further, the remote UE receives the sidelink data transmission of the relay UE on the corresponding PSSCH resource. When the indicated PSSCH resource in the received SCI is included in the remote UE dedicated PSSCH resource pool, it can be determined that the SCI is the forward SCI type 1. Further, the remote UE sends sidelink data on the indicated PSSCH resource.

As an example of the fourth resolution method, reference is made to FIG. 10. The remote UE and the relay UE have their own dedicated PSSCH resource pools. The relay UE transmits a SCI and indicates PSSCH resources in SCI. In order to schedule the remote UE transmission, the relay UE indicates PSSCH resource contains in the remote UE dedicated PSSCH resource pool in the SCI. For the relay UE, the relay UE sidelink data transmission indicates the PSSCH resource in the relay UE dedicated PSSCH resource pool.

The remote UE should try to blindly detect SCI in PSCCH resource pool and decode the information contains in the SCI. When the PSSCH resources indicated in the received SCI are contained in the remote UE PSSCH resource pool, it means that the SCI is a forward SCI type 1, and when the PSSCH resource indicated in the received SCI are contained in the relay UE PSSCH resource pool, it means that the SCI is a forward SCI type 2. According to the indication in the received SCI, the remote UE should receive the data on the PSSCH resource while the SCI is the forward SCI type 2, or transmit its SCI and/or data on the assigned resources while the SCI is the forward SCI type 1.

The fifth resolution method is based on the timing relation between SCI and the corresponding PSSCH resource. For the fifth method, attention is directed to the example shown within FIG. 11.

The remote UE can obtain a rule to derive the type of forward SCI based on the timing relationship between the forward SCI and the PSSCH resource indicated in the forward SCI. For example, when the interval between the SCI and the PSSCH resource indicated in the SCI is greater than or equal to k, where k is a constant value or preconfigured by the system, the SCI is the forward SCI type 1 and the PSSCH resource indicated by SCI is used for the remote UE transmission, and when the subframe interval between the SCI and the PSSCH resource indicated in the SCI is less than or equal to or less than t, where t is a constant value or preconfigured by the system, the SCI is the forward SCI type 2, which indicates the sidelink transmission of the relay UE. And, k and t can be assigned with same value.

For example (e.g., see FIG. 11) , the remote UE shares the PSSCH resource pool with the relay UE. The system preconfigures when the subframe interval between the subframe of the SCI and the subframe of the PSSCH resource indicated by SCI is greater than or equal to k, the SCI For the forward SCI type 1, k ＝ 4, when the subframe interval between the SCI subframe and the subframe where the PSSCH resource indicated by the SCI is less than t, the SCI is the forward SCI type 2, t ＝ 4. When the relay UE indicates the PSSCH resource in the SCI, the indicated PSSCH resource can clearly determine where the subframe is located, for example, directly indicates the PSSCH resource subframe number, or indicates the subframe interval between the PSSCH resource and the SCI.

The remote UE receives the SCI blindly in the PSCCH resource pool and obtains the PSSCH resource information indicated in the SCI to determine the subframe interval between the subframe where the indicated PSSCH resource is located and the subframe that receives the SCI. Further, the remote UE determines that the SCI type is the forward SCI type 1 or the forward SCI type 2 based on the subframe interval and the system predefined timing rules.

When the subframe interval is greater than or equal to 4, it can be determined that the SCI is the forward SCI type 1. Further, the remote UE sends sidelink data on the indicated PSSCH resource. When the subframe interval is less than 4, it can be determined that that the SCI is the forward SCI type 2. Further, the remote UE receives the sidelink data transmission of the relay UE on the corresponding PSSCH resource, as shown in FIG. 11.

It is to be appreciated that for one specific example, the value of k is the same as the value of t. If so, the timing relationship determinations would be modified so that the timing relationship determinations cannot provide a conflicting result. Specifically, both timing relationship determinations would not be able to include the option of time being equal to the same value. As one example modification, if k equals t, the timing relationship determinations could be: greater than or equal to k and less than t.

Another issue that needs to be resolved in relay UE and remote UE sidelink communication is the eNB scheduling information distinguishing for sidelink resource. When eNB schedules relay UE and remote UE sidelink resources, the resource allocation information for relay UE and remote UE are indicated in DCI. As the relay UE can relay the indication from eNB to remote UE, that is to say, the sidelink resource allocation for remote UE scheduled by eNB should be relayed through relay UE to remote UE. For the relay UE, it needs to receive both itself DCI and the related remote UE DCI, and then forward the information of the remote UE DCI on sidelink to the corresponding remote UE.

For this issue, when the relay UE receives a DCI from eNB, it should be determined that the current DCI is DCI type 1 which indicates PSCCH and/or PSSCH resource allocation for relay UE or DCI type 2 which indicates PSCCH and/or PSSCH resource allocation for remote UE. The DCI distinguish scheme is similar as disclosed scheme for SCI type 1 and type 2.

For resolution of the above issues, various different solutions are considered to be within the scope of the disclosed subject matter. Several example solutions are provided following. However, it is to be understood that these examples are not limitations upon the breadth of the disclosed subject matter.

The sixth resolution method is based on scheduling/forwarding indication in the DCI. Specifically, this method includes setting an indication bit in the DCI to indicate that it is a DCI type 1 (which can be referred to as “scheduling DCI” ) or a DCI type 2 (which can be referred to as “forwarding DCI” ) . An example is described following and an example flowchart is provided in FIG. 12. In the example, the 1-bit indicator is an indication within the DCI. The indication, via value “1” , indicates that the DCI is a DCI type 1, or, via value “0” , that the DCI is a DCI type 2, vice versa.

Attention is directed to FIG. 12. At act S1202, the relay UE blindly detects a DCI in PDCCH. At act S1204, decoding of the instructions in the DCI is performed. Specifically, it is determined whether the indication bit indicates that the DCI is a DCI type 1 or DCI type 2. Within the presented example, the indicator bit would be “1” to indicate that the DCI is a DCI type 1 and “0” to indicate that the DCI is a DCI type 2. Of course, for a different example, the indication of “1” and “0” could be vice versa. Moreover, although this example presents a binary digit of value “1” or “0” , it is to be appreciated that such need not be a specific limitation and that other/different values could be used and also need not even be binary.

Turning back to the example shown within FIG. 12, if the determination at act S1204 is yes (i.e., the indication is “1” ) , the method proceed to act S1206. Specifically, the relay UE obtains the sidelink PSCCH and/or PSSCH resource assignment scheduled by eNB in the DCI type 1 and then transmits on the assigned resource.

If the determination at act S1204 is no (i.e., the indication is “0” ) , the method proceed to act S1208. Specifically, the relay UE has determined that the received DCI is the DCI type 2. So, the sidelink resources indicated in the DCI is for remote UE, and then relay UE needs to forward the resource allocation to remote UE via SCI.

The seventh resolution method is based on UE ID. With one example, an indication field is set in the DCI to indicate the UE ID of the UE to which the current DCI belongs. Attention is drawn to FIG. 13.

In this example, the DCI contains an N-bit indication field, which indicates the UE ID of the UE to which the current DCI belongs. As such, the method begins at act S1302. At act S1302, the relay UE blindly detects a DCI in PDCCH resource. At act S1304, the UE ID is obtained from within the received DCI.

At act S1306, it is determined if the UE ID is the remote UE ID or relay UE ID. Within the presented example, when the N-bit indication field indicates the UE ID is the relay UE ID, it is determined that the current DCI is the DCI type 1 for relay UE and indicates the sidelink resource assignment for relay UE transmitting.

The method then proceeds from act S1306 to act S1308. At act S1308, the sidelink PSCCH and/or PSSCH resource assignment in the DCI type 1 is obtained and then relay UE transmitted on the assign resource.

At act S1306, it is determined if the UE ID is not the relay UE ID. Within the presented example, relay UE proceeds from act S1306 to act S1310. At act S1310, it is determined that the N-bit indication field indicates that the UE ID is a remote UE ID, thus, the DCI is the DCI type 2. For such, relay UE forward the information contains in the DCI type 2 to the corresponding remote UE on sidelink.

FIG. 14 presents a schematic architecture diagram 1400 of a base station 1450 that may be utilized with UEs that use at least a portion of the techniques provided herein. Such a base station 1450 may vary widely in configuration and/or capabilities, alone or in conjunction with other base stations, nodes, end units and/or servers, etc. in order to provide a service, such as at least some of one or more of the other disclosed techniques, scenarios, etc. It is contemplated that the base station is a node.

For example, the base station 1450 may connect one or more user equipment (UE) to a (e.g., wireless) network (e.g., which may be connected and/or include one or more other base stations) , such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) networks, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) networks, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) networks, Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) networks, Single-Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks, etc. The network may implement a radio technology, such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA) , CDMA13000, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) , Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA) , IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.16, IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM, etc. The base station 1450 and/or the network may communicate using a standard, such as Long-Term Evolution (LTE) .

The base station 1450 may comprise one or more (e.g., hardware) processors 1410 that process instructions. The one or more processors 1410 may optionally include a plurality of cores； one or more coprocessors, such as a mathematics coprocessor or an integrated graphical processing unit (GPU) ； and/or one or more layers of local cache memory. The base station 1450 may comprise memory 1402 storing various forms of applications, such as an operating system 1404； one or more base station applications 1406； and/or various forms of data, such as a database 1408 and/or a file system, etc. The base station 1450 may comprise a variety of peripheral components, such as a wired and/or wireless network adapter 1414 connectible to a local area network and/or wide area network； one or more storage components 1416, such as a hard disk drive, a solid-state storage device (SSD) , a flash memory device, and/or a magnetic and/or optical disk reader； and/or other peripheral components.

The base station 1450 may comprise a mainboard featuring one or more communication buses 1412 that interconnect the processor 1410, the memory 1402, and/or various peripherals, using a variety of bus technologies, such as a variant of a serial or parallel AT Attachment (ATA) bus protocol； a Uniform Serial Bus (USB) protocol； and/or Small Computer System Interface (SCI) bus protocol. In a multibus scenario, a communication bus 1412 may interconnect the base station 1450 with at least one other server. Other components that may optionally be included with the base station 1450 (though not shown in the schematic diagram 1400 of FIG. 14) include a display； a display adapter, such as a graphical processing unit (GPU) ； input peripherals, such as a keyboard and/or mouse； and/or a flash memory device that may store a basic input/output system (BIOS) routine that facilitates booting the base station 1450 to a state of readiness, etc.

The base station 1450 may operate in various physical enclosures, such as a desktop or tower, and/or may be integrated with a display as an “all-in-one” device. The base station 1450 may be mounted horizontally and/or in a cabinet or rack, and/or may simply comprise an interconnected set of components. The base station 1450 may comprise a dedicated and/or shared power supply 1418 that supplies and/or regulates power for the other components. The base station 1450 may provide power to and/or receive power from another base station and/or server and/or other devices. The base station 1450 may comprise a shared and/or dedicated climate control unit 1420 that regulates climate properties, such as temperature, humidity, and/or airflow. Many such base stations 1450 may be configured and/or adapted to utilize at least a portion of the techniques presented herein.

FIG. 15 presents a schematic architecture diagram 1500 of a user equipment (UE) 1550 (e.g., a node) whereupon at least a portion of the techniques presented herein may be implemented. Such a UE 1550 may vary widely in configuration and/or capabilities, in order to provide a variety of functionality to a user. It is to be appreciated that the UE can be a node.

The UE 1550 may be provided in a variety of form factors, such as a mobile phone (e.g., a smartphone) ； a desktop or tower workstation； an “all-in-one” device integrated with a display 1508； a laptop, tablet, convertible tablet, or palmtop device； a wearable device, such as mountable in a headset, eyeglass, earpiece, and/or wristwatch, and/or integrated with an article of clothing； and/or a component of a piece of furniture, such as a tabletop, and/or of another device, such as a vehicle or residence. The UE 1550 may serve the user in a variety of roles, such as a telephone, a workstation, kiosk, media player, gaming device, and/or appliance.

The UE 1550 may comprise one or more (e.g., hardware) processors 1510 that process instructions. The one or more processors 1510 may optionally include a plurality of cores； one or more coprocessors, such as a mathematics coprocessor or an integrated graphical processing unit (GPU) ； and/or one or more layers of local cache memory. The UE 1550 may comprise memory 1501 storing various forms of applications, such as an operating system 1503； one or more user applications 1502, such as document applications, media applications, file and/or data access applications, communication applications, such as web browsers and/or email clients, utilities, and/or games； and/or drivers for various peripherals. The UE 1550 may comprise a variety of peripheral components, such as a wired and/or wireless network adapter 1506 connectible to a local area network and/or wide area network； one or more output components, such as a display 1508 coupled with a display adapter (optionally including a graphical processing unit (GPU) ) , a sound adapter coupled with a speaker, and/or a printer； input devices for receiving input from the user, such as a keyboard 1511, a mouse, a microphone, a camera, and/or a touch-sensitive component of the display 1508； and/or environmental sensors, such as a GPS receiver 1519 that detects the location, velocity, and/or acceleration of the UE 1550, a compass, accelerometer, and/or gyroscope that detects a physical orientation of the UE 1550. Other components that may optionally be included with the UE 1550 (though not shown in the schematic architecture diagram 1500 of FIG. 15) include one or more storage components, such as a hard disk drive, a solid-state storage device (SSD) , a flash memory device, and/or a magnetic and/or optical disk reader； a flash memory device that may store a basic input/output system (BIOS) routine that facilitates booting the UE 1550 to a state of readiness； and/or a climate control unit that regulates climate properties, such as temperature, humidity, and airflow, etc.

The UE 1550 may comprise a mainboard featuring one or more communication buses 1512 that interconnect the processor 1510, the memory 1501, and/or various peripherals, using a variety of bus technologies, such as a variant of a serial or parallel AT Attachment (ATA) bus protocol； the Uniform Serial Bus (USB) protocol； and/or the Small Computer System Interface (SCI) bus protocol. The UE 1550 may comprise a dedicated and/or shared power supply 1518 that supplies and/or regulates power for other components, and/or a battery 1504 that stores power for use while the UE 1550 is not connected to a power source via the power supply 1518. The UE 1550 may provide power to and/or receive power from other client devices.

FIG. 16 is an illustration of a scenario 1600 involving an example non-transitory computer readable medium 1602. The non-transitory computer readable medium 1602 may comprise processor-executable instructions 1612 that when executed, as an embodiment 1614, by a processor 1616 cause performance (e.g., by the processor 1616) of at least some of the provisions herein. The non-transitory computer readable medium 1602 may comprise a memory semiconductor (e.g., a semiconductor utilizing static random access memory (SRAM) , dynamic random access memory (DRAM) , and/or synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM) technologies) , a platter of a hard disk drives, a flash memory device, or a magnetic or optical disc (such as a compact disc (CD) , digital versatile disc (DVD) , and/or floppy disk) . The example non-transitory computer readable medium 1602 stores computer-readable data 1604 that, when subjected to reading 1606 by a reader 1610 of a device 1608 (e.g., a read head of a hard disk drive, or a read operation invoked on a solid-state storage device) , express the processor-executable instructions 1612. In some embodiments, the processor-executable instructions 1612, when executed, cause performance of operations, such as at least some of the above-discussed example methods. The example methods include, but are not limited to the methods presented herein, and the other described methods.

Following is a listing of some acronyms/definitions that may be used herein:

UE: User Equipment

eNB: E-UTRAN NodeB, Base station

SL: Sidelink

SCI: Sidelink Control Information

DCI: Downlink Control information

PSCCH: Physical Sidelink Control Channel

PSSCH: Physical Sidelink Shared Channel

PDCCH: Physical Downlink Control Channel

RB: Resource Block

RRC: Radio Resource Control

TPC: Transmission Power Control

MCS: Modulation and Coding Scheme

As used in this application, "component, " "module, " "system" , "interface" , and/or the like are generally intended to refer to a computer-related entity, either hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application running on a controller and the controller can be a component. One or more components may reside within a process and/or thread of execution and a component may be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers (e.g., nodes (s) ) .

Unless specified otherwise, “first, ” “second, ” and/or the like are not intended to imply a temporal aspect, a spatial aspect, an ordering, etc. Rather, such terms are merely used as identifiers, names, etc. for features, elements, items, etc. For example, a first object and a second object generally correspond to object A and object B or two different or two identical objects or the same object.

Moreover, "example" is used herein to mean serving as an instance, illustration, etc., and not necessarily as advantageous. As used herein, "or" is intended to mean an inclusive "or" rather than an exclusive "or" . In addition, "a" and "an" as used in this application are generally be construed to mean "one or more" unless specified otherwise or clear from context to be directed to a singular form. Also, at least one of A and B and/or the like generally means A or B or both A and B. Furthermore, to the extent that "includes" , "having" , "has" , "with" , and/or variants thereof are used in either the detailed description or the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term "comprising” .

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

Furthermore, the claimed subject matter may be implemented as a method, apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programming and/or engineering techniques to produce software, firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof to control a computer (e.g., node) to implement the disclosed subject matter. The term "article of manufacture" as used herein is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, carrier, or media. Of course, many modifications may be made to this configuration without departing from the scope or spirit of the claimed subject matter.

Various operations of embodiments and/or examples are provided herein. The order in which some or all of the operations are described herein should not be construed as to imply that these operations are necessarily order dependent. Alternative ordering will be appreciated by one skilled in the art having the benefit of this description. Further, it will be understood that not all operations are necessarily present in each embodiment and/or example provided herein. Also, it will be understood that not all operations are necessary in some embodiments and/or examples.

Also, although the disclosure has been shown and described with respect to one or more implementations, equivalent alterations and modifications will occur to others skilled in the art based upon a reading and understanding of this specification and the annexed drawings. The disclosure includes all such modifications and alterations and is limited only by the scope of the following claims. In particular regard to the various functions performed by the above described components (e.g., elements, resources, etc. ) , the terms used to describe such components are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, to any component which performs the specified function of the described component (e.g., that is functionally equivalent) , even though not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure. In addition, while a particular feature of the disclosure may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application.

Claims

A method comprising:

receiving forward sidelink control information from a node；

determining a type of the forward sidelink control information； and

based upon the type, receiving a sidelink data transmission from the node or transmitting sidelink data to the node.
The method of claim 1, wherein:

the determining comprises determining the type of the forward sidelink control information as forward sidelink control information type 1 or forward sidelink control information type 2, wherein:

the forward sidelink control information type 1 indicates a sidelink resource allocation, including sidelink control channel resource and/or sidelink data channel resource； and

the forward sidelink control information type 2 indicates a sidelink data resource of the node.
The method of claim 1, wherein:

the forward sidelink control information comprises an indicator bit, and

the determining comprises determining the type of the forward sidelink control information based upon a value of the indicator bit.
The method of claim 1, wherein:

the forward sidelink control information comprises an identification, and

the determining comprises determining the type of the forward sidelink control information based upon the identification.
The method of claim 1, wherein:

the determining comprises determining the type of the forward sidelink control information based upon a resource pool from which the forward sidelink control information is received.
The method of claim 5, wherein the resource pool from which the forward sidelink control information is received is a dedicated physical sidelink control channel resource pool.
The method of claim 1, wherein:

the determining comprises determining the type of the forward sidelink control information based upon at least one of a resource pool of a sidelink control channel resource or a resource pool of a sidelink data channel resource, wherein:

at least one of the sidelink control channel resource or the sidelink data channel resource are indicated by the forward sidelink control information.
The method of claim 7, wherein:

the resource pool of the sidelink control channel resource is a dedicated physical sidelink control channel resource pool； and

the resource pool of the sidelink data channel resource is a dedicated physical sidelink shared channel resource pool.
The method of claim 1, wherein

the determining comprises determining the type of the forward sidelink control information based on a time interval, wherein:

the time interval is between a subframe on which the forward sidelink control information is received and a subframe on which a resource is indicated by the forward sidelink control information.
A method comprising:

transmitting forward sidelink control information to a node；

determining a type of the forward sidelink control information； and

based upon the type, determining at least one of:

an indication in the forward sidelink control information；

a resource for transmitting the forward sidelink control information； or

a resource indicated in the forward sidelink control information.
The method of claim 10, wherein:

the determining comprises determining the type of the forward sidelink control information as a forward sidelink control information type 1 or a forward sidelink control information type 2, wherein:

the forward sidelink control information type 1 indicates a sidelink resource allocation to the node, including sidelink control channel resource and/or sidelink data channel resource； and

the forward sidelink control information type 2 indicates sidelink data resource.
The method of claim 10, wherein:

determining an indication in the forward sidelink control information comprises determining an indicator bit, wherein:

the indicator bit indicates the type of the forward sidelink control information.
The method of claim 10, wherein:

determining an indication in the forward sidelink control information comprises determining an identification, wherein:

the identification indicates the type of the forward sidelink control information.
The method of claim 10, wherein:

determining a resource for transmitting the forward sidelink control information comprises determining a sidelink control channel resource to transmit the forward sidelink control information, wherein:

the sidelink control channel resource is in a dedicated physical sidelink control channel resource pool.
The method of claim 10, wherein:

determining a resource indicated in the forward sidelink control information comprises determining at least one of a sidelink control channel resource or a sidelink data channel resource, wherein:

the sidelink control channel resource is in a dedicated physical sidelink control channel resource pool； and

the sidelink data channel resource is in a dedicated physical sidelink shared channel resource pool.
The method of claim 10, wherein:

determining a resource indicated in the forward sidelink control information comprises determining a sidelink resource with a time interval, wherein:

the time interval is between a subframe on which the forward sidelink control information is transmitted and a subframe on which the sidelink resource is indicated by the forward sidelink control information； and

the sidelink resource is a sidelink control channel resource or a sidelink data channel resource.
A communication device comprising:

a processor； and

memory comprising processor-executable instructions that when executed by the processor cause performance of a method recited in any of claims 1 to 16.
A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon processor-executable instructions that when executed cause performance of a method recited in any of claims 1 to 16.