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Title:
METHODS AND APPARATUSES FOR SRS TRANSMISSION AND RECEPTION
Document Type and Number:
WIPO Patent Application WO/2023/079329
Kind Code:
A1
Abstract:
An apparatus and a method of wireless communication are provided. The method by a user equipment (UE) includes receiving, from a base station, a sounding reference symbol (SRS) request in a first slot and determining a second slot for SRS transmission, wherein the second slot is relevant to the first slot, a first offset, and/or a second offset. This can solve issues in the prior art, provide a processing time for UE to prepare SRS transmission, reduce signaling overhead, provide a good communication performance, and/or provide high reliability.

Inventors:
LIN HAO (FR)
Application Number:
PCT/IB2021/000783
Publication Date:
May 11, 2023
Filing Date:
November 02, 2021
Export Citation:
Click for automatic bibliography generation   Help
Assignee:
OROPE FRANCE SARL (FR)
International Classes:
H04L5/00
Foreign References:
US20210075565A12021-03-11
Other References:
"3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; NR; Physical layer procedures for data (Release 16)", vol. RAN WG1, no. V16.7.0, 28 September 2021 (2021-09-28), pages 1 - 172, XP052056880, Retrieved from the Internet [retrieved on 20210928]
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
IPSIDE (FR)
Download PDF:
Claims:
What is claimed is:

1. A wireless communication method by a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving, from a base station, a sounding reference symbol (SRS) request in a first slot; and determining a second slot for SRS transmission, wherein the second slot is relevant to the first slot, a first offset, and/or a second offset.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first slot refers to a slot in which the UE receives, from the base station, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carrying the SRS request.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the second slot refers to a slot in which the UE transmits the SRS transmission.

4. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a location of the second slot is defined as a location of the first slot plus the first offset and/or the second offset.

5. The method of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first offset and the second offset are in units of slots.

6. The method of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first offset is configured in an SRS configuration via a radio resource control (RRC) message.

7. The method of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the UE is configured with a plurality of configured values for the first offset.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein a value among the configured values for the first offset is activated by the base station as an activated value.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the value among the configured values for the first offset is activated by the base station as the activated value via a media access control-control element (MAC-CE) or a downlink control information (DCI).

10. The method of claim 8 or 9, wherein the UE is configured to determine the activated value as the first offset.

11. The method of any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the second offset is configured in an SRS configuration via an RRC message or in a system information.

12. The method of any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the second offset is relevant to a first parameter, and the first parameter is configured in an SRS configuration via an RRC message or in a system information.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first parameter has a unit of milliseconds.

14. The method of claim 12 or 13, wherein the UE determines the second offset by converting the first parameter to a number of slots.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the UE converts the first parameter to the number of slots based on a reference subcarrier spacing.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the reference subcarrier spacing is an active bandwidth part (BWP) subcarrier spacing, a pre-defined subcarrier spacing, or a pre-configured subcarrier spacing.

17. The method of any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein a time interval is between a last symbol of the PDCCH carrying the SRS request and a first symbol of the SRS transmission.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the UE performs the SRS transmission when the time interval is equal to or larger than a threshold.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the threshold is pre-defined or pre-configured.

20. The method of any one of claims 1 to 19, wherein the SRS transmission is relevant to a time advance.

21. The method of any one of claims 17 to 20, wherein the first symbol of the SRS transmission is relevant to a time advance.

22. A wireless communication method by a base station comprising: transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), a sounding reference symbol (SRS) request in a first slot; and controlling the UE to determine a second slot for SRS transmission, wherein the second slot is relevant to the first slot, a first offset, and/or a second offset.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the first slot refers to a slot in which the UE receives, from the base station, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carrying the SRS request.

24. The method of claim 22 or 23, wherein the second slot refers to a slot in which the UE transmits the SRS transmission.

25. The method of any one of claims 22 to 24, wherein a location of the second slot is defined as a location of the first slot plus the first offset and/or the second offset.

26. The method of any one of claims 22 to 25, wherein the first offset and the second offset are in units of slots.

27. The method of any one of claims 22 to 26, wherein the first offset is configured in an SRS configuration via a radio resource control (RRC) message.

28. The method of any one of claims 22 to 26, wherein the base station configures, to the UE, a plurality of configured values for the first offset.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein a value among the configured values for the first offset is activated by the base station as an activated value.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the value among the configured values for the first offset is activated by the base station as the activated value via a media access control-control element (MAC-CE) or a downlink control information (DCI).

31. The method of claim 29 or 30, wherein the UE is configured to determine the activated value as the first offset.

32. The method of any one of claims 22 to 31, wherein the second offset is configured in an SRS configuration via an RRC message or in a system information.

33. The method of any one of claims 22 to 31, wherein the second offset is relevant to a first parameter, and the first parameter is configured in an SRS configuration via an RRC message or in a system information.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the first parameter has a unit of milliseconds.

35. The method of claim 33 or 34, wherein the base station controls the UE to determine the second offset by converting the first parameter to a number of slots.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the base station controls the UE to convert the first parameter to the number of slots based on a reference subcarrier spacing.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the reference subcarrier spacing is an active bandwidth part (BWP) subcarrier spacing, a pre-defined subcarrier spacing, or a pre-configured subcarrier spacing.

38. The method of any one of claims 22 to 37, wherein a time interval is between a last symbol of the PDCCH carrying the SRS request and a first symbol of the SRS transmission.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein the base station controls the UE to perform the SRS transmission when the time interval is equal to or larger than a threshold.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein the threshold is pre-defined or pre-configured.

41. The method of any one of claims 22 to 40, wherein the SRS transmission is relevant to a time advance.

42. The method of any one of claims 38 to 41, wherein the first symbol of the SRS transmission is relevant to a time advance.

43. A user equipment (UE), comprising: a memory; a transceiver; and a processor coupled to the memory and the transceiver; wherein the processor is configured to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 21.

44. Abase station, comprising: a memory; a transceiver; and a processor coupled to the memory and the transceiver; wherein the processor is configured to perform the method of any one of claims 22 to 42.

45. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1

46. A chip, comprising: a processor, configured to call and run a computer program stored in a memory, to cause a device in which the chip is installed to execute the method of any one of claims 1 to 42.

47. A computer readable storage medium, in which a computer program is stored, wherein the computer program causes a computer to execute the method of any one of claims 1 to 42.

48. A computer program product, comprising a computer program, wherein the computer program causes a computer to execute the method of any one of claims 1 to 42.

49. A computer program, wherein the computer program causes a computer to execute the method of any one of claims 1 to 42.

Description:
METHODS AND APPARATUSES FOR SRS TRANSMISSION AND RECEPTION

BACKGROUND OF DISCLOSURE

1. Field of the Disclosure

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of communication systems, and more particularly, to an apparatus and a method of wireless communication, which can provide a good communication performance and/or high reliability.

2. Description of the Related Art

[0002] Non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) refer to networks, or segments of networks, using a spacebome vehicle or an airborne vehicle for transmission. Spacebome vehicles include satellites including low earth orbiting (LEO) satellites, medium earth orbiting (MEO) satellites, geostationary earth orbiting (GEO) satellites, and highly elliptical orbiting (HEO) satellites. Airborne vehicles include high altitude platforms (HAPs) encompassing unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) including lighter than air (LTA) unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and heavier than air (HTA) UAS, all operating in altitudes typically between 8 and 50 km, quasi-stationary.

[0003] Communication via a satellite is an interesting means thanks to its well-known coverage, which can bring the coverage to locations that normally cellular operators are not willing to deploy either due to non-stable crowd potential client, e.g., extremely rural, or due to high deployment cost, e.g., middle of ocean or mountain peak. Nowadays, the satellite communication is a separate technology to a 3rd generation partnership project (3 GPP) cellular technology. Coming to 5G era, these two technologies can be merged, i.e., we can imagine having a 5G terminal that can access to a cellular network and a satellite network. The NTN can be good candidate technology for this purpose. It is to be designed based on 3GPP new radio (NR) with necessary enhancement.

[0004] In a legacy terrestrial network (TN) system, a sounding reference symbol (SRS) resource is configured in a radio resource control (RRC) message. There is an offset between a downlink control information (DCI) triggering the SRS and the SRS. The offset contains one value configured by the RRC. In the TN system, it is assumed that a timing advance is not frequently changed and thus the offset is not changed over time. However, in an NTN system, due to high velocity of a satellite or a spacebome, the timing advance at a user equipment (UE) may be changed rapidly. In case, the timing advance is increased over time, the pre-configured offset value may result in a situation that the UE is lack of processing time for preparing SRS transmission.

[0005] Therefore, there is a need for an apparatus (such as a user equipment (UE) and/or a base station) and a method of wireless communication, which can solve issues in the prior art, provide a processing time for UE to prepare SRS transmission, reduce signaling overhead, provide a good communication performance, and/or provide high reliability.

SUMMARY

[0006] An object of the present disclosure is to propose an apparatus (such as a user equipment (UE) and/or a base station) and a method of wireless communication, which can solve issues in the prior art, provide a processing time for UE to prepare SRS transmission, reduce signaling overhead, provide a good communication performance, and/or provide high reliability.

[0007] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, a method of wireless communication by a user equipment (UE) comprises receiving, from a base station, a sounding reference symbol (SRS) request in a first slot and determining a second slot for SRS transmission, wherein the second slot is relevant to the first slot, a first offset, and/or a second offset.

[0008] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, a method of wireless communication by a base station comprises transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), a sounding reference symbol (SRS) request in a first slot and controlling the UE to determine a second slot for SRS transmission, wherein the second slot is relevant to the first slot, a first offset, and/or a second offset.

[0009] In a third aspect of the present disclosure, a user equipment comprises a memory, a transceiver, and a processor coupled to the memory and the transceiver. The transceiver is configured to receive, from a base station, a sounding reference symbol (SRS) request in a first slot, and the processor is configured to determine a second slot for SRS transmission, wherein the second slot is relevant to the first slot, a first offset, and/or a second offset.

[0010] In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a base station comprises a memory, a transceiver, and a processor coupled to the memory and the transceiver. The transceiver is configured to transmit, to a user equipment (UE), a sounding reference symbol (SRS) request in a first slot, and the processor is configured to control the UE to determine a second slot for SRS transmission, wherein the second slot is relevant to the first slot, a first offset, and/or a second offset.

[0011] In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium has stored thereon instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the above method.

[0012] In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, a chip includes a processor, configured to call and run a computer program stored in a memory, to cause a device in which the chip is installed to execute the above method.

[0013] In a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, a computer readable storage medium, in which a computer program is stored, causes a computer to execute the above method. [0014] In an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program product includes a computer program, and the computer program causes a computer to execute the above method.

[0015] In a ninth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program causes a computer to execute the above method.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0016] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present disclosure or related art, the following figures will be described in the embodiments are briefly introduced. It is obvious that the drawings are merely some embodiments of the present disclosure, a person having ordinary skill in this field can obtain other figures according to these figures without paying the premise.

[0017] FIG. 1 A is a block diagram of one or more user equipments (UEs) and a base station (e.g., gNB or eNB) of communication in a communication network system (e.g., non-terrestrial network (NTN) or a terrestrial network) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0018] FIG. IB is a block diagram of one or more user equipments (UEs) and a base station (e.g., gNB or eNB) of communication in a non-terrestrial network (NTN) system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0019] FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0020] FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of wireless communication performed by a base station according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0021] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a communication system including a base station (BS) and a UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0022] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating that a BS transmits 3 beams to the ground forming 3 footprints according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0023] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an uplink-downlink timing relation according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0024] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a slot determination for SRS transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0025] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a slot determination for SRS transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0026] FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a system for wireless communication according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0027] Embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail with the technical matters, structural features, achieved objects, and effects with reference to the accompanying drawings as follows. Specifically, the terminologies in the embodiments of the present disclosure are merely for describing the purpose of the certain embodiment, but not to limit the disclosure.

[0028] FIG. 1A illustrates that, in some embodiments, one or more user equipments (UEs) 10 and a base station (e.g., gNB or eNB) 20 for transmission adjustment in a communication network system 30 (e.g., non-terrestrial network (NTN) or terrestrial network) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure are provided. The communication network system 30 includes the one or more UEs 10 and the base station 20. The one or more UEs 10 may include a memory 12, a transceiver 13, and a processor 11 coupled to the memory 12 and the transceiver 13. The base station 20 may include a memory 22, a transceiver 23, and a processor 21 coupled to the memory 22 and the transceiver 23. The processor 11 or 21 may be configured to implement proposed functions, procedures and/or methods described in this description. Layers of radio interface protocol may be implemented in the processor 11 or 21. The memory 12 or 22 is operatively coupled with the processor 11 or 21 and stores a variety of information to operate the processor 11 or 21. The transceiver 13 or 23 is operatively coupled with the processor 11 or 21, and the transceiver 13 or 23 transmits and/or receives a radio signal.

[0029] The processor 11 or 21 may include application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), other chipset, logic circuit and/or data processing device. The memory 12 or 22 may include read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), flash memory, memory card, storage medium and/or other storage device. The transceiver 13 or 23 may include baseband circuitry to process radio frequency signals. When the embodiments are implemented in software, the techniques described herein can be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, and so on) that perform the functions described herein. The modules can be stored in the memory 12 or 22 and executed by the processor 11 or 21. The memory 12 or 22 can be implemented within the processor 11 or 21 or external to the processor 11 or 21 in which case those can be communicatively coupled to the processor 11 or 21 via various means as is known in the art.

[0030] In some embodiments, the communication between the UE 10 and the BS 20 comprises non-terrestrial network (NTN) communication. In some embodiments, the base station 20 comprises spacebome platform or airborne platform or high altitude platform station. The base station 20 can communicate with the UE 10 via a spacebome platform or airborne platform, e.g., NTN satellite 40, as illustrated in FIG. IB.

[0031] FIG. IB illustrates a system which includes a base station 20 and one or more UEs 10. Optionally, the system may include more than one base station 20, and each of the base stations 20 may connect to one or more UEs 10. In this disclosure, there is no limit. As an example, the base station 20 as illustrated in FIG. IB may be a moving base station, e.g., spacebome vehicle (satellite) or airborne vehicle (drone). The UE 10 can transmit transmissions to the base station 20 and the UE 10 can also receive the transmission from the base station 20. Optionally, not shown in FIG. IB, the moving base station can also serve as a relay which relays the received transmission from the UE 10 to a ground base station or vice versa. Optionally, a satellite 40 may be seen as a relay point which relays the communications between a UE 10 and a base station 20, e.g., gNB/eNB. Spacebome platform includes satellite 40 and the satellite 40 includes LEO satellite, MEO satellite, and GEO satellite. While the satellite 40 is moving, the LEO satellite and MEO satellite are moving with regard to a given location on earth. However, for GEO satellite, the GEO satellite is relatively static with regard to a given location on earth. In some embodiments of this disclosure, some embodiments focus on the LEO satellite type or MEO satellite type, for which some embodiments of the disclosure aim at resolving an issue of wider range of frequency offset and/or Doppler offset (shift).

[0032] Spacebome platform includes satellite and the satellite includes low earth orbiting (LEO) satellite, medium earth orbiting (MEO) satellite and geostationary earth orbiting (GEO) satellite. While the satellite is moving, the LEO and MEO satellite is moving with regard to a given location on earth. However, for GEO satellite, the GEO satellite is relatively static with regard to a given location on earth.

[0033] In some embodiments, the transceiver 13 is configured to receive, from the base station 20, a sounding reference symbol (SRS) request in a first slot, and the processor 11 is configured to determine a second slot for SRS transmission, wherein the second slot is relevant to the first slot, a first offset, and/or a second offset. This can solve issues in the prior art, provide a processing time for UE to prepare SRS transmission, reduce signaling overhead, provide a good communication performance, and/or provide high reliability.

[0034] In some embodiments, the transceiver 23 is configured to transmit, to the user equipment (UE) 10, a sounding reference symbol (SRS) request in a first slot, and the processor 21 is configured to control the UE to determine a second slot for SRS transmission, wherein the second slot is relevant to the first slot, a first offset, and/or a second offset. This can solve issues in the prior art, provide a processing time for UE to prepare SRS transmission, reduce signaling overhead, provide a good communication performance, and/or provide high reliability.

[0035] FIG. 2 illustrates a method 200 of wireless communication by a user equipment (UE) 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the method 200 includes: a block 202, receiving, from a base station, a sounding reference symbol (SRS) request in a first slot, and a block 204, determining a second slot for SRS transmission, wherein the second slot is relevant to the first slot, a first offset, and/or a second offset. This can solve issues in the prior art, provide a processing time for UE to prepare SRS transmission, reduce signaling overhead, provide a good communication performance, and/or provide high reliability.

[0036] FIG. 3 illustrates a method 300 of wireless communication by a base station 20 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the method 300 includes: a block 302, transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), a sounding reference symbol (SRS) request in a first slot, and a block 304, controlling the UE to determine a second slot for SRS transmission, wherein the second slot is relevant to the first slot, a first offset, and/or a second offset. This can solve issues in the prior art, provide a processing time for UE to prepare SRS transmission, reduce signaling overhead, provide a good communication performance, and/or provide high reliability.

[0037] In some embodiments, the first slot refers to a slot in which the UE receives, from the base station, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carrying the SRS request. In some embodiments, the second slot refers to a slot in which the UE transmits the SRS transmission. In some embodiments, a location of the second slot is defined as a location of the first slot plus the first offset and/or the second offset. In some embodiments, the first offset and the second offset are in units of slots. In some embodiments, the first offset is configured in an SRS configuration via a radio resource control (RRC) message. In some embodiments, the UE is configured with a plurality of configured values for the first offset. In some embodiments, a value among the configured values for the first offset is activated by the base station as an activated value.

[0038] In some embodiments, the value among the configured values for the first offset is activated by the base station as the activated value via a media access control-control element (MAC-CE) or a downlink control information (DCI). In some embodiments, the UE is configured to determine the activated value as the first offset. In some embodiments, the second offset is configured in an SRS configuration via an RRC message or in a system information. In some embodiments, the second offset is relevant to a first parameter, and the first parameter is configured in an SRS configuration via an RRC message or in a system information. In some embodiments, the first parameter has a unit of milliseconds.

[0039] In some embodiments, the UE determines the second offset by converting the first parameter to a number of slots. In some embodiments, the UE converts the first parameter to the number of slots based on a reference subcarrier spacing. In some embodiments, the reference subcarrier spacing is an active bandwidth part (BWP) subcarrier spacing, a pre-defined subcarrier spacing, or a pre-configured subcarrier spacing. In some embodiments, a time interval is between a last symbol of the PDCCH carrying the SRS request and a first symbol of the SRS transmission. In some embodiments, the UE performs the SRS transmission when the time interval is equal to or larger than a threshold. In some embodiments, the threshold is pre-defined or pre-configured. In some embodiments, the SRS transmission is relevant to a time advance. In some embodiments, the first symbol of the SRS transmission is relevant to a time advance.

[0040] FIG. 4 illustrates a communication system including a base station (BS) and a UE according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. Optionally, the communication system may include more than one base station, and each of the base stations may connect to one or more UEs. In this disclosure, there is no limit. As an example, the base station illustrated in FIG. 1A may be a moving base station, e.g., spacebome vehicle (satellite) or airborne vehicle (drone). The UE can transmit transmissions to the base station and the UE can also receive the transmission from the base station. Optionally, not shown in FIG. 4, the moving base station can also serve as a relay which relays the received transmission from the UE to a ground base station or vice versa. [0041] Spacebome platform includes satellite and the satellite includes LEO satellite, MEO satellite and GEO satellite. While the satellite is moving, the LEO and MEO satellite is moving with regards to a given location on earth. However, for GEO satellite, the GEO satellite is relatively static with regards to a given location on earth. A moving base station or satellite, e.g., in particular for LEO satellite or drone, communicates with a user equipment (UE) on the ground. Due to long distance between the UE and the base station on satellite, the beamformed transmission is needed to extend the coverage.

[0042] Optionally, as illustrated in FIG. 5, where a base station is integrated in a satellite or a drone, and the base station transmits one or more beams to the ground forming one or more coverage areas called footprint. In FIG. 5, an example illustrates that the BS transmits three beams (beam 1 , beam 2 and beam3) to form three footprints (footprint 1 , 2 and 3), respectively. Optionally, 3 beams are transmitted at 3 different frequencies. In this example, the bit position is associated with a beam. FIG. 5 illustrates that, in some embodiments, a moving base station, e.g., in particular for LEO satellite or drone, communicates with a user equipment (UE) on the ground. Due to long distance between the UE and the base station on satellite, the beamformed transmission is needed to extend the coverage. As illustrated in FIG. 5, where a base station is transmitting three beams to the earth forming three coverage areas called footpoints. Moreover, each beam may be transmitted at dedicated frequencies so that the beams for footprint 1, 2 and 3 are non-overlapped in a frequency domain. The advantage of having different frequencies corresponding to different beams is that the inter-beam interference can be minimized.

[0043] In some embodiments, a moving base station (BS), e.g., in particular for LEO satellite or drone, communicates with a user equipment (UE) on the ground. A round trip time (RTT) between the BS and the UE is time varying. The RTT variation is related to a distance variation between the BS and the UE. The RTT variation rate is proportional to a BS motion velocity. To ensure a good uplink synchronization, the BS will adjust an uplink transmission timing and/or frequency for the UE. In some embodiments of this disclosure, a method for uplink synchronization adjustment is provided, and the uplink synchronization adjustment comprises at least one of the followings: a transmission timing adjustment or a transmission frequency adjustment. Optionally, the transmission timing adjustment further comprises a timing advance (TA) adjustment.

[0044] FIG. 6 illustrates an uplink-downlink timing relation according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 illustrates that, in some embodiments, downlink, uplink, and sidelink transmissions are organized into frames with Tf = (Δƒƒ max /100 () c ms) duration, each consisting of ten subframes of T sf = (Δƒƒ max /1000 () c ms) duration. T f refers to a radio frame duration. Δƒ refers to subcarrier spacing. n f refers to a system frame number (SFN). T c refers to a basic time unit for NR. T sf refers to a subframe duration. The number of consecutive orthogonal frequency division multiplexed (OFDM) symbols per subframe is refers to number of OFDM symbols per subframe for subcarrier spacing configuration refers to number of symbols per slot. refers to number of slots per subframe for subcarrier spacing configuration . Each frame is divided into two equally-sized half-frames of five subframes each with half-frame 0 consisting of subframes 0 to 4 and half- frame 1 consisting of subframes 5 to 9. There is one set of frames in the uplink and one set of frames in the downlink on a carrier. Uplink frame number i for transmission from the UE starts T TA = (N TA + /V TA offset ) T c before the start of the corresponding downlink frame at the UE where N TA offset is given by TS 38.213, except for a message A (msgA) transmission on physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) where T TA = 0 is used. T TA refers to timing advance between downlink and uplink. N TA refers to timing advance between downlink and uplink. N TA , offset refers to a fixed offset used to calculate the timing advance. T c refers to a basic time unit for NR.

[0045] The examples given in this disclosure can be applied for loT device or NB-IoT UE in NTN systems but the method is not exclusively restricted to NTN system nor for loT devices or NB-IoT UE.

[0046] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a slot determination for SRS transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 7 illustrates that, in some examples, there is a condition on a processing time and if the condition is met, a UE transmits the SRS. The condition is that a time interval after the last symbol of a PDCCH carrying a request of SRS transmission and the first symbol of the SRS transmission is equal to or larger than a threshold. FIG. 7 illustrates that, in some examples, it is assumed that the SRS is allocated in the slot index n plus a first offset, where the slot n is the slot in which the UE receives a PDCCH carrying an SRS request and the corresponding SRS transmission is allocated in slot n plus the first offset. The UE can prepare an SRS transmission in the slot n plus the first offset with considering timing advance (TA) as illustrated in FIG. 7. The time interval is the from the last symbol of the PDCCH carrying the SRS request and the first symbol of the SRS transmission considering the TA. In some examples, the threshold is pre-defined or pre-configured. In some examples, the SRS transmission considers timing advance.

[0047] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a slot determination for SRS transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 8 illustrates that, in some examples, when a UE receives an SRS request and the UE can determine that an SRS slot by taking into account a first slot, a first offset, and/or a second offset. FIG. 8 illustrates that, in some examples, both first and second offsets are used to determine the SRS slot. The SRS slot refers to a slot in which the UE transmits the SRS transmission. The SRS slot has a slot index. In case the UE receives a PDCCH carrying the SRS request in the slot n, the slot n is the first slot. Further, the SRS slot index is n plus the first offset plus the second offset, or n plus the first offset or n plus the second offset. In some examples, the first offset and the second offset are of slot units. The first offset is configured in SRS configuration via an RRC message. The second offset may be configured in a system information. In some examples, the second offset is relevant to a first parameter, where the first parameter is configured in the system information. For example, the first parameter has unit of milliseconds and the UE can determine the second offset by converting the first parameter to the number of slots. The conversion can consider a reference subcarrier spacing. The reference subcarrier spacing may be an active BWP subcarrier spacing, a pre-defined subcarrier spacing, or a pre-configured subcarrier spacing. In some examples, the UE is configured more than one value for the first offset, a network such as a base station may activate a value among the configured values, and the UE can determine the activated value as the first offset. The network may activate the value via MAC-CE or DCI.

[0048] Commercial interests for some embodiments are as follows. 1. Solving issues in the prior art. 2. Providing a processing time for UE to prepare SRS transmission. 3. Reducing signaling overhead. 4. Providing a good communication performance. 5. Providing a high reliability. 6. Some embodiments of the present disclosure are used by 5G-NR chipset vendors, V2X communication system development vendors, automakers including cars, trains, trucks, buses, bicycles, moto-bikes, helmets, and etc., drones (unmanned aerial vehicles), smartphone makers, communication devices for public safety use, AR/VR device maker for example gaming, conference/seminar, education purposes. Some embodiments of the present disclosure are a combination of “techniques/processes” that can be adopted in 3GPP specification to create an end product. Some embodiments of the present disclosure could be adopted in the 5G NR unlicensed band communications. Some embodiments of the present disclosure propose technical mechanisms.

[0049] FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an example system 700 for wireless communication according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Embodiments described herein may be implemented into the system using any suitably configured hardware and/or software. FIG. 9 illustrates the system 700 including a radio frequency (RF) circuitry 710, a baseband circuitry 720, an application circuitry 730, a memory/storage 740, a display 750, a camera 760, a sensor 770, and an input/output (I/O) interface 780, coupled with each other at least as illustrated. The application circuitry 730 may include a circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more singlecore or multi-core processors. The processors may include any combination of general-purpose processors and dedicated processors, such as graphics processors, application processors. The processors may be coupled with the memory/storage and configured to execute instructions stored in the memory/storage to enable various applications and/or operating systems running on the system.

[0050] The baseband circuitry 720 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processors may include a baseband processor. The baseband circuitry may handle various radio control functions that enables communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuitry. The radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation, encoding, decoding, radio frequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry may provide for communication 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 (WMAN), a wireless local area network (WEAN), a wireless personal area network (WPAN). Embodiments in which the baseband circuitry is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multimode baseband circuitry.

[0051] In various embodiments, the baseband circuitry 720 may include circuitry to operate with signals that are not strictly considered as being in a baseband frequency. For example, in some embodiments, baseband circuitry may include circuitry to operate with signals having an intermediate frequency, which is between a baseband frequency and a radio frequency. The RF circuitry 710 may enable communication with wireless networks using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, the RF circuitry may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate the communication with the wireless network. In various embodiments, the RF circuitry 710 may include circuitry to operate with signals that are not strictly considered as being in a radio frequency. For example, in some embodiments, RF circuitry may include circuitry to operate with signals having an intermediate frequency, which is between a baseband frequency and a radio frequency.

[0052] 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 the RF circuitry, the baseband circuitry, and/or the 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 a memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that execute 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 the circuitry may be implemented by, one or more software or firmware modules. In some embodiments, some or all of the constituent components of the baseband circuitry, the application circuitry, and/or the memory/storage may be implemented together on a system on a chip (SOC). The memory/storage 740 may be used to load and store data and/or instructions, for example, for system. The memory/storage for one embodiment may include any combination of suitable volatile memory, such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM)), and/or non-volatile memory, such as flash memory.

[0053] In various embodiments, the 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. User interfaces may include, but are not limited to a physical keyboard or keypad, a touchpad, a speaker, a microphone, etc. 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 supply 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 gyro 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, e.g., a global positioning system (GPS) satellite.

[0054] In various embodiments, the display 750 may include a display, such as a liquid crystal display and a touch screen display. In various embodiments, the 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, an AR/VR glasses, etc. In various embodiments, system may have more or less components, and/or different architectures. Where appropriate, 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.

[0055] A person having ordinary skill in the art understands that each of the units, algorithm, and steps described and disclosed in the embodiments of the present disclosure are realized using electronic hardware or combinations of software for computers and electronic hardware. Whether the functions run in hardware or software depends on the condition of application and design requirement for a technical plan. A person having ordinary skill in the art can use different ways to realize the function for each specific application while such realizations should not go beyond the scope of the present disclosure. It is understood by a person having ordinary skill in the art that he/she can refer to the working processes of the system, device, and unit in the above-mentioned embodiment since the working processes of the above-mentioned system, device, and unit are basically the same. For easy description and simplicity, these working processes will not be detailed.

[0056] It is understood that the disclosed system, device, and method in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be realized with other ways. The above-mentioned embodiments are exemplary only. The division of the units is merely based on logical functions while other divisions exist in realization. It is possible that a plurality of units or components are combined or integrated in another system. It is also possible that some characteristics are omitted or skipped. On the other hand, the displayed or discussed mutual coupling, direct coupling, or communicative coupling operate through some ports, devices, or units whether indirectly or communicatively by ways of electrical, mechanical, or other kinds of forms.

[0057] The units as separating components for explanation are or are not physically separated. The units for display are or are not physical units, that is, located in one place or distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units are used according to the purposes of the embodiments. Moreover, each of the functional units in each of the embodiments can be integrated in one processing unit, physically independent, or integrated in one processing unit with two or more than two units.

[0058] If the software function unit is realized and used and sold as a product, it can be stored in a readable storage medium in a computer. Based on this understanding, the technical plan proposed by the present disclosure can be essentially or partially realized as the form of a software product. Or, one part of the technical plan beneficial to the conventional technology can be realized as the form of a software product. The software product in the computer is stored in a storage medium, including a plurality of commands for a computational device (such as a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to run all or some of the steps disclosed by the embodiments of the present disclosure. The storage medium includes a USB disk, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a floppy disk, or other kinds of media capable of storing program codes.

[0059] While the present disclosure has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements made without departing from the scope of the broadest interpretation of the appended claims.